When It Rains
by Meg Storm
Summary: Returning to the place you were born after a ten year absence isn't easy. Returning when you don't want to is much worse. I'm not very normal, my life is hard, unforgiving and painful. But it is just about to get harder... Jake/OC. Please R&R!
1. Return

**A/N: Okay, first Twilight story, so go easy on me (:. I'm not hooked on Twilight but this idea wouldn't let me go, so, here we are. I'd say it's set between Eclipse and New Moon (the last of which, I haven't seen nor read yet). Bella hasn't been changed yet so yeah, just to clear up any possible confusion. I doubt it'll follow the original story line, cause I don't know what that story line is. So summing up (man, I went a long way 'round for a shortcut on this) Everything that happens before New Moon, has, well, happened. As of now...who the hell knows? :P  
**

**Disclaimer: I DO NOT own Twilight, including any of the characters, places, phrases etc that you recognise. What you don't recognise, and the plot, are mine.**

**Enjoy! Please let me know what you think at the end. **

_**.:When It Rains:.**_

**.Chapter 1: Return.**

The engine roared in my ears, a sound that never failed to bring a smile to my face.

The world outside flew past in a blur of greens and greys and browns, all mixing together like paint that had run down its canvass.

The speedo needle climbed higher and higher as my foot pressed down on the accelerator. A hundred kilometres an hour…a hundred and ten…a hundred and twenty… The speed pushed me back into my seat and made my heart race with adrenaline. A hundred and twenty-six kilometres…a hundred and twenty-nine…a hundred and…sirens.

I groaned loudly in annoyance as the flashing lights in my rear-view mirrors grew bigger with their approach. This was just perfect. What better way to begin my first day back in this god forsaken place then with another bloody speeding ticket? Just smashingly brilliant, Tasha will _kill_ me.

Reluctantly I reduced my speed and pulled off the road, not that it was really necessary, there was hardly any traffic in this place. I tapped my fingers against the wheel as the officer got out of his car and came up to me, tapping lightly on my window, ticket book in hand.

With a sigh I rolled it down and gave the man behind the sheriff's hat and overly large sunnies a forced smile. "Morning Officer."

He touched his fingers to his hat. "Morning Miss, licence and registration, do you know you were exceeding the speed limit?"

_Of course I knew. _"Was I? Oh, I'm so sorry." I handed him the documents and smiled innocently.

"Mm," He didn't sound convinced as he scribbled out the fine and checked the papers before handing them back. "What brings you to these parts? Planning on staying long?" Which was actually code for 'how long are you gonna be here and plan on terrorising my town?'

"A family reunion, of sorts," I replied through clenched teeth. "That I failed to get out of. I assure you I gave it my best shot, but my sister was determined. Hopefully I won't be here long."

He nodded. "Which family? I probably know them."

"Probably," I agreed. "Everyone knows everyone and all their business in this place. Uley's, over at La Push."

He chuckled. "That's how it is with small communities. Uley's eh? Related to Sam then?"

"Unfortunately, the world was cruel and made us cousins." I muttered, accepting the ticket he was handing me. Two hundred and eighty-six, not to bad I suppose. I reached over and chucked it in the glove box. When I looked back the officer was staring at me with a thoughtful expression.

I raised my eyebrows. "What?"

"Well, well, well." He shook his head and grinned. "Eva Hanson, haven't you grown up."

I pushed my sunnies to the top of my head and studied him carefully until recognition clicked. "_Charlie_? Charlie Swan? Oh my god, it's so good to see you!" I leapt out of the car and hugged one of my Dad's best friends tightly. "You're _still_ working here?"

He chuckled. "Yeah, don't think I'll ever leave."

I grimaced. "Don't say that, you might curse me to that fate as well."

He laughed and held me at arms length to get a better look at me. "Look at you, Eva. I haven't seen you since you were this big." He held his hand about level with his hip to indicate the height. "How did that wild, scruffy little eight year old girl turn into the beautiful young woman standing here now? How've you been, Evie?"

I smiled, he was different to how I remembered him, but ten years could fuzz one's memory. "I've been alright, busy but alright. It's been a long time. How's Bella?"

Charlie smiled. "Good, she's engaged now."

I'm pretty sure my mouth dropped. "Holy, she doesn't muck around does she?" She was only a couple of years older then me, and I'm only eighteen. "Who's she engaged to?"

"Edward Cullen."

Cullen, Cullen…sounded familiar, but I'd not heard of any _Edward_ Cullen's, surprisingly, if he lived around here. "Not a local then?"

"His family's lived here for a while. His father's the surgeon in Forks."

I nodded. "Interesting, congratulations on the gaining of a son-in-law to be."

He laughed. "Thanks."

"Well, it was good to see you, Charlie." I smiled, and I actually meant it. "I'll have to drop in and see you before I leave, but I better get going. Tasha will chew my ears off if I'm any later."

He smiled and nodded understandingly as he shut my door for me and leant against the roof. "It was good to see you to, Evie. I know how Tash is, but I'll be expecting that visit."

I laughed and fastened my seatbelt. "It's a promise, bye, Charlie."

"And drive slower young lady!"

I gunned the engine, the cheeky smile on my face no doubt. "Sure thing, chief, sure thing."

He rolled his eyes and waved me off.

Back on the road and back on the path to my destination I sighed. I have absolutely no idea how Tasha, my older sister, has managed to talk me into this. I'd sworn never to return to this hell hole, yet here I was, returning to this hell hole.

It was impossible to say that this was worst day in my life, because I've had some corkers. Like the day that my first partner was blown to bits in an explosion in India. I'd refused another partner for a long while after that, insisting on being solo as much as possible. They'd finally managed to pair me up with one of the girls I'd trained with, though.

And the day I didn't hit my target with the first shot and it cost three innocent people their lives. Or the day I accidentally poisoned my goldfish with a chemical that's illegal in thirteen countries, that when in solid form, looks a lot like fish food.

The day my dad died of cancer.

Then, of course, there was _that _day…

In my line of work, bad days were more often then good ones, being a spy and all.

So it was impossible to say that this day was the worst day in my life, because there had been worse, far, far worse. But I sure as hell wasn't looking forward to this one. This was the place where my family's destruction had started.

It wasn't La Push's fault I suppose, but the memories I had here were not the greatest, and I'd rather forget. La Push had been everything to my Dad. He was born here, grew up here, had his kids here, and died here. I was obviously half Native American. My other half was Irish, but my mother has lived in America ever since she can remember.

I lived on the res until I was six. My parents had been having problems in their marriage for a year or so before they divorced, or rather; it had been a year since _I_ had noticed the problems. They had only stayed together as long as they had for the sake of my sister and me. But that had meant many tension filled meals and arguments over what seemed like nothing to me at the time.

In the end my mother told us to pack our bags because we were leaving. I never worked out what hurt most about that day, whether it was that my Dad didn't fight to keep us or that I wanted to leave. We went to New York, all the way across the other side of the darn country, where Mum had grown up and had secured a job as a partner at a large law firm.

I'd not seen an inch of La Push since I'd watched it get smaller and smaller out of the back window of Mum's car after my Dad's funeral when I was eight, which she had been reluctant to take us to in the first place. And I was reluctant to return now. I hadn't said good bye to anyone before we left. I hadn't called or made any contact with anyone in all this time, except Leah Clearwater and her direct family. She was one of my two best friends, the only other person apart from my partner that I completely trusted with almost everything.

But everything else was the past, plain and simple. The past was meant to stay in the past. Tasha couldn't leave it that way though. She'd kept constant contact with Sam and Rachel Black especially and had been trying to drag me back here for years.

I'm claiming to be drunk and drugged on the day I finally agreed and promised her that I'd go for the weekend.

"Stop being stupid," I chided myself. "It won't kill you." I glanced at my watch and groaned. I was nearly an hour late. The visit might not kill me, but Tash sure will when she sees me.

I shook my head. This was ridicules. I'm a spy for goodness sake! I've faced so much worse then this, what was so devastating about this one little weekend trip? I tried to clear the thoughts from my head before I turned around and went back to New York, and begged for some far away assignment. I wonder if Tasha would find me in Siberia.

She would be hunting me down like a demented blood hound if I skipped off. Maybe it was better if I just…sucked it up and suffered for a couple of days?  
I picked my phone up off the passenger seat and with one eye on it and one on the road I reluctantly turned it on and checked messages. Five texts from Tash and three missed calls from her to, and they all pretty much asked where the hell I was and to hurry up. I ignored the other missed calls. They could be dealt with later.

I texted back quickly to stop her terrorising whoever she was with. If she was with Sam though, I wouldn't have cared and probably left her to it.

He used to date Leah but dumped her for _her_ cousin. We have cousin issues, I think. That hadn't gone down well with me at all, and he and I hadn't been the best of friends to start with. So Sam was now one of my least favourite people. I cursed under my breath as I turned my full attention back to the road.

Charlie wouldn't be pleased with me if I crashed and damaged a tree. And I'd be pissed if so much as a scratch found its way onto my car. My Ferrari Enzo was more precious to me then a kidney.

My phone buzzed with the arrival of a new text. _'Oh, it's about time Eva! You know how to get to Sam's?' _

"Why on earth would I know how to get to Sam's?" I muttered and texted back a straight '_no_'. I knew the horrible truth then was that we'd be staying at his place. I rolled my eyes. Siberia was looking better and better by the second.

It didn't take her long to send back the directions, and strict instructions to behave and be civil. She should have thought about that before hand, shouldn't she? _'Whatever.'_ Pressing send I tossed the phone back onto the passenger seat and ignored it. This was going to be the longest three days of my short life. With another dejected sigh I shoved my earphones in my ears and turned up the volume on my ipod. Nickelback '_If Everyone Cared_' blared through my brain.

'_We'd see the day that nobody died...'_ A novel thought, but I highly doubted it. I knew a lot of people who cared, but that didn't help them now did it. Humanity was going to hell. People were driven by desire and greed, a money controlled society. You'd never get everyone to care about one thing because there'll always be one who won't.

When I noticed my speed climbing again I backed off and loosened my grip on the wheel from where I'd been unconsciously trying to strangle it. "Calmness, Evie." I muttered. "It's not the car's fault." I patted the wheel as an apology.

La Push appeared in front of me, green and overcast, just like I remembered it. The scattered buildings seemed just the same as my vague memory recalled them, like the whole place had just frozen in time. I snorted at the thought, nothing ever changed here.

The forest all around seemed to loom up over me, trying to smother me and cut off my escape. Tash owed me big time for this. The red of my car was so out of place, its bright shine was almost alien amongst the much duller surroundings.

It was much easier then I'd hoped to find my way to Sam's. His place wasn't that far from where I used to live. It was nestled comfortably into the landscape, but as I got closer to it, it seemed unwelcoming. Like it knew I didn't belong here, and was trying to cast me out before I'd even arrived.

'_Let it.' _My inner voice muttered moodily. '_And hope it succeeds.' _Hope was never a good friend of mine.

I pulled up outside and tried to breathe normally, flexing my fingers to stop them shaking as I turned off the car. This was it. As soon as I step out I'd be officially here. "It's just a weekend, one itty bitty weekend." I muttered and opened the door, grabbing my duffle bag off the floor of the passenger seat and got out. Black leather covered feet connecting with the dirt of my home town.

I slung the bag over my shoulder and shut the door. The sweet smells of pine, rain, wood smoke and sea air wasted no time in invading my nose. I had to admit, I did love the air here. It was so clean and fresh and calming. If there wasn't everything else here I'd call it the smell of freedom.

There wasn't anyone outside, but there was an awful lot of noise coming from inside the little house. So, with a scowl set firmly in place, I stalked towards the front door. As I got closer, the rather delicious scent of food added to the usual La Push air and my stomach growled at the thought. _'This is what you get for not eating for thirty-six hours, and not sleeping for seventy-bloody-five.'_ My inner voice tisked disapprovingly. _'A ravenous appetite and a shitty mood, congratulations.'_

Ignoring it, I poked my head through the open front door and almost turned around and walked straight back out. Inside was absolutely overflowing with people. Or maybe, they were all just that _humongous _that it seemed like a lot.

Several women, including Tasha, so I couldn't have been in the wrong place, were all standing in the kitchen filling dozens of trays with all sorts of food. And one more was in the lap of one of the guys. And all through the rest of the house were shirtless, insanely large, russet coloured men. Each had what looked like identical tribal tattoos on their shoulder and they were all behaving like complete imbeciles.

I picked out Billy Black and Old Quil, both of which were watching a game on TV, though how they could possibly hear it over the noise I had no idea. I found Leah to, sprawled out on an arm chair half heartedly watching the game also, away from the others and ignoring them.

"_This is such a bad idea_." I thought, but against my better judgment I dropped my duffle bag next to the door way and cleared my throat.

I definitely should've picked Siberia.

**A/N: So that's chapter one complete. What did you think? Should I keep going or scrap it? The chapter lengths will vary, but I'll try not to have them to short or to long. Thank you very much for reading, pretty please R&R and let me know how I did!**

**~Meg xx**


	2. Reunion

**A/N: Thank you very much to **_**Sam**_** for the review :). I decided to put the next chapter up early because of it. Just a note, there is bad language in this chapter, just so you know. **

**Enjoy, pretty please review! **

**Chapter 2: Reunion **

Throat clearing had the desired affect as everyone stopped and looked up in surprise. Even ones I hadn't noticed before because they were in other rooms popped their heads around corners.

"What is this, a steroid convention?" I asked, trying not to look at the half naked men. _Boys_ just didn't seem like an adequate description of them. I probably used to push half of them into mud puddles, thinking of them as hot was just odd.

"Evie!" Tasha yelped, running around the bench and pulling me into a vicious hug. "You took your sweet time! Oh I thought you weren't coming, you took that long! Look at you, you look like death itself! When was the last time you slept? Haven't I told you…"

For someone of her small stature, she was definitely stronger then she looked. And I was certain that she could've talked the ears off anyone, even from under wet cement. "Yeah, yeah," I cut off her rant. "Thanks for the advice, _mother_, can you stop crushing my ribcage now? Thanks." The bruising there was protesting loudly against her squeezing it.

She pulled back and held me at arms length and I let out a breath as the pressure was released. "What took you so long? Come inside. Sam, she's here!"

I wasn't given much of a choice as she yanked me through the threshold. I raised a hand in greeting to the rest of the occupations before eyeing my sister cautiously. "I ran into Charlie Swan, or rather, he pulled me over." I rolled my eyes as she pressed her lips into a thin line like she always did when she got mad. "If your gonna yell at me, just yell at me already and get it over with."

She didn't need to be told twice. "Pulled over? _What_ have you done _this_ time?"

I pulled away from her as her hands turned into vices around my forearms, her well manicured nails dug into my skin near the point of drawing blood. I quickly made my way to Sue Clearwater for refuge. Tash always turned into a savage bitch, for lack of a better explanation, when she found out I'd been '_bad'_. "It's just a speeding ticket. Hi, Sue."

Sue chuckled and hugged me. "Hello, Evie. Aren't you beautiful, all grown up." That seemed to be a common observation.

"'_Just a speeding ticket?'_" Tasha mimicked at a near hysterical level. "Just _another_ speeding ticket, you mean. When are you going to _learn_, Eva Deanna!"

"And I'm trouble," I grinned at Sue cheekily. "I knew she'd have my head for this."

"Serves you right," Leah called from her place. "For getting caught!"

We laughed, but Tasha was having none of it. "Don't encourage her! One of these days your going to crash that damn car and you'll find yourself a paraplegic or worse, _dead_!" Was death supposed to scare me? "Sam, _talk to her!_"

I rolled my eyes. "Yeah yeah, Tash, whatever you say. Like Sam'll make any difference. When have I ever listened to him?" I looked around and let my eyes settle on the one that was probably my cousin. Man, he was huge. "Hi." Suppose I should make _some_ effort and not be totally hostile towards him, since I'm doomed to stay in his house this whole time.

He smiled, somewhat unsurely. Tasha must have told him I didn't like him, then. "Hello little cousin, welcome back,"

I nodded, looking around the room at all the food and general set up. "Oh please don't tell me all this is for me?" Great, guilty a conscious, just what I needed.

Sue laughed and squeezed my shoulders. "It's the first time you've been home in ages, girl. We're aloud to make an effort aren't we?"

I smiled sheepishly and yelped as Leah threw her arm around my shoulders. She was taller then me. "She would've been happier if she'd turned up without anyone knowing, Ma." My best friend concluded. "You remember all this mangy lot then, Evie?"

I looked around at the faces, while some sparked a distant recognition the rest were pretty much blank. "Sort of," I admitted, waving and smiling brightly at Old Quil and Billy, my Dad's best friends on the res.

I looked back at Sue sorrowfully. "I'm so sorry about Harry, Sue. And I'm sorry I couldn't come to the funeral." _I was in Turkey chasing a murderer as a training exercise at the time and didn't hear about his death until I got back, two weeks later. _

She smiled sadly and patted my arm. "Thank you dear. It's alright, Leah said you were abroad."

Leah cleared her throat, eager to get off the subject of her father. "Right, well, that's Paul, Maxwell, Embry, Quil, Vincent, Georgia, Jared, Kim, Rachel, Kevin, Emily, you know Seth, Jacob, Collin, Brady and, well, Sam."

All the males, apart from Billy and Old Quil, were like the healthier version of body builders and the shortest one was still over 6' foot. I was pretty tall, but these guys all towered above me. I forced a smile and raised a hand tiredly in greeting.

My breath suddenly caught in my throat as my eyes locked with dark chocolate ones across the room for about half a second. I only just managed to rip mine away as my heart started beating faster.

Somewhere someone murmured quietly. "Another one down,"

I dismissed the weirdness, maybe it was because I was so tired? I attempted to cover it up by turning my attention back to their physics, a great tactic, not. "What the hell happened to you lot? Seth, you should know better then to use steroids." I grinned at the little brother I never had, bouncing over to him and hugged him. He was taller then me now to, not as muscular as the older boys but still very impressive.

He picked me up as if I weighed nothing and spun me around once. Maybe it wouldn't be such a bad visit after all. "Hey, Evie!"

"Put me down, you great oath." I laughed, my feet dangling in mid air. "How on earth did you get so _big_?" I grabbed his arm and twisted it so I could get a better look at his tattoo, it was Quileute, obviously, but I didn't know what it meant. It looked like two wolves rearing on their hind legs with an eye between them, with the rest of the pattern surrounding it. "Very nice, I bet your mother whooped your arse for it though." I had tattoos to, but I wouldn't be flashing them around here, Tasha would flip.

There were wings folded evenly, almost covering my whole back, I'd gotten them to help cover the scars I had there. A black phoenix rested on my right shoulder, his wings spread up as if about to take flight, surrounded by swirling gusts of wind. And finally between my shoulder blades and between the wings was the Native American symbol for wind.

The wind is the spirit of life, and I am a whole believer in having ample amounts of spirit and life. My spirit is a little lacking, and my life has come close to ending once or twice. Just because I didn't fear death, didn't mean I wished for it, not always anyway. This was the only symbol I carried of my heritage.

He grinned and shook his head. "Maybe you just shrunk?"

"Pah, what rubbish." I looked at all the food. "No wonder you are though, if they feed you like this all the time. It smells good. Tasha can't have had anything to do with it then." I tossed my sister a winning smile.

She tried to glare at me but it turned into a smile and a soft laugh. "I'm glad you stuck to your promise and came, Eva." She patted my cheek as she passed. "And don't worry. I didn't have anything to do with making the food."

She was a terrible cook, and a danger to building foundations. I'd never seen anyone have things explode in microwaves and ovens nearly as many times as what she has.

I stayed with Seth and Leah, his arm around my waist as the girls brought the food out to the large dinning table. The whole time I could feel eyes burning holes in the side of my head. Taking a discreet glance sideways, my eyes meet the gorgeous chocolate ones of Jacob Black.

The scrawny little kid who always used to eat the worms in his Dad's bait box, and annoy me to no end, was now undeniably good looking and staring at me with the creepiest expression. His gaze flicked to Seth's hand and his eyes narrowed.

I removed my eyes from him all together and tried to concentrate on what Embry was saying. He and Quil junior were both standing around us. I'd had most to do with them, since they were the same age me.

I made a mental note to slap Embry later for the time he dumped me into the half drum of oil when my Dad had been working on his pick up. And Quil once snuck into my room while we were away and filled every conceivable space with pine cones and sea weed, and then left it there for three days. But I think I'd gotten him back for that. The effect of itching power spread all over bed sheets was very amusing, _if_ you were the one watching…

And I should just beat the crap out of Paul for the sake of beating the crap out of Paul. Practical jokes were very common among us kids, but he was just an arse.

"…over by Charlie huh?" Embry was grinning. "How fast were you going?"

I shrugged. "I'd say, but knowing my luck Tash will hear me and behead me. So we'll just settle on to fast, obviously."

He chuckles, and still I can feel that burning gaze on me. The girls bring out the last trays of food and set them on the table, and then Emily waves us all over with a smile and an order of 'dig in'.

I didn't think she'd meant literally.

"My god," I muttered as Leah grabbed my arm and pulled me towards the table the others had swarmed like under-fed bees to the last flower on earth.

She laughed. "Yeah, I know, their disgusting."

"Have they not seen food before?" She pulled out a chair and pushed me into it, handing me a plate and knife and fork.

"Their like it all the time, I'd get something real quick before they eat the table and all."

"So, Evie," Emily says not long after the uproar has calmed down. I didn't look at her scars, or more they didn't draw any huge amount of shock. Scars were nothing new to me. The amounts of food however…I'd never seen so much food being piled onto plates before. Even Jay didn't eat this much! And that boy can put away a meal and a half.

I looked at her around all the bodies and blinked. Was it just me or was it hot in here?

"Tasha tells us you've finished school, what are you doing now?" She asked, smiling.

I looked at my sister across the table and raised my eyebrows. She knew about me, being a spy. When I was sharing an apartment with her she went snooping through my room and for forty-three cases of bullets and several sniper rifles under my bed, well, it needed explaining.

And it was either the good guy explanation or the bad guy one, and I wasn't bad and I didn't want my big sister to think I was evil. Now all she did was send me a small smile and a gesture to speak up. Great.

"Oh, I work for a government company. Nothing special, I'm the boss's secretary so I get to go on all the business trips and stuff." I replied easily. Lying was second nature to me.

"Sounds interesting," Sam said. "How long have you been out of school? You must've done pretty well to have finished this early."

"One and a half years. Done well, dropped out…same difference really." I chuckled. _I was selected for specialist training and therefore taken out of main stream schools and normal curriculum's. _"I'm happy where I am."

He nodded and seemed at a loss with what to continue the conversation with. He was saved the effort though, when one of the younger ones bolted back into the room, eyes the size of the dinner plates. I hadn't realised he'd left, but then, with all the commotion over the food I was surprised I knew which way was up.

"T-there's a _Ferrari _in your drive, Sam!" He exclaimed. Brady, that's his name, knew I'd remember it. This immediately caught all male attentions and they perked up considerably and started to get up to run and investigate. _'Urgh, men.' _

"It's a Ferrari _Enzo_, and if any of you lay a finger on my baby I will cut your hands off at your elbows, understand?"

"It's _yours_?" Paul countered, leaning back in his chair to try and get a look at it, through the wall, the idiot.

"Well since I just said '_my_ baby', a possessive phrase, I think we may all safely assume that it belongs to me." I replied in a 'durh' tone.

"How the hell did you get a Ferrari?" Quil asked in awe. "How much did it cost?"

I sighed and dropped my fork. I wasn't going to be able to eat anymore, was I? "The same way most people acquire cars. It costs more then what you'll make in a life time, so don't touch it."

"Can't we take it for spin?" Seth begged. "Please, Evie?"

"Firstly, there are only two seats. By the time _all_ of you had go it'd be well and truly out of fuel, and I'd probably need new tyres. Secondly, I've seen what Jared does to the cars he drives and there's no way in hell my baby is going for a swim in any of the local water holes." I folded my arms. "No one drives it, but me." I'd probably give into Seth later though, I had trouble saying no to him and my godson for long. One of the few weaknesses I have.

"Is it supposed to make this really weird noise?" Brady asked through all the crestfallen faces, you'd think I just told them Christmas would be cancelled.

I frowned and stood up, starting towards my car. If Tyler had done something stupid again I'd shoot him myself. I marched outside and flung open the driver's door-I love how it opens upwards- well aware of the audience that had followed me out, and listened carefully for the 'weird noise'.

Then the demented shrill buzzing of my phone sounded loudly and I groaned. "That weird noise?"

Brady nodded, trying to see around me into the cab.

I snatched the device off the other seat and held it up to his face. "It's called a phone, genius." The caller ID was saying Maddy. I was in trouble now. Pulling the keys out of the ignition I got out and shut the door. "Right, shows over, get your steroid butts inside."

"We're not on steroids!" Another one, Collin, I think, protested. Several of the others nodded in agreement.

"Whatever." I locked the car and shoved the keys into the pocket of my jeans, least they get and bright ideas, and answered the phone as I walked back inside.

"Hell…"

"_Where the hell have you been_?" The female voice demanded straight away. I flinched at the harsh tone of my partner and other best friend. What was it with people and yelling at me today?

"I'm just…"

"_I've been calling for ages! Did you forget how to answer a bloody phone_?" Her British accent got thicker when she was mad. "_I thought you'd had an accident or been kidnapped or…"_

"Madison! For the love of sanity, _shut up!_" I got some really odd looks as I dropped into my chair and messaged my temples with one hand. The boys trailed in behind me disappointedly. "I'm in La Push, I'm not dead, or kidnapped, or injured. You can relax now."

"_I told you to call me when you landed in Seattle and when you got there. I've gotten no phone calls from you! Nor have you answered any_!"

I rolled my eyes. "I forgot to turn the darn thing on after I got off the plane and when I got here I was mobbed then set down for dinner. I'm sorry, won't happen again."

"_Good_." It was only three hundred and fourteen kilometres from Seattle to La Push. Not that far, Maddy was just a worrier. "_How's the family_?"

"Super," I reply dryly. "I'm in danger of having my car nicked and all the food in the district devoured before I can blink." '_When can I come home?' _My mind screamed. _'Save me! Pick me up! Do _something_!'_

She just laughed, and I imagined her mousy curls swaying and her blue eyes dancing in mocking amusement. The cow. "_You'll survive, darling, I'm sure. Don't be such a sook_."

"Whatever."

"_Cheer up, and sleep well. I've gotta go, meeting starts in five_." Her overly bubble voice alerted me to the fact that she was teasing me. "_Love you, bye_!"

"Cya, don't fall off the bridge or anything."

She laughed and hung up.

"Bitch." I muttered and eyed the food for half a second before deciding on sleep instead. "Which way to where I'm sleeping? I think I should lie down before I pass out, food was great." I could feel that burning gaze again and I whipped my eyes around to glare openly at Jacob.

I was way to over tried to be nice at present time.

"What the hell is wrong with you? Stop. Staring. At. Me." _Creepy twerp._

Hurt flashed across his eyes for a moment but he dropped his gaze none the less. The room had gone silent and now everyone was looking between me and him like they'd just noticed we were both present. God, this is going to be the longest weekend of my entire life. Siberia was the best option after all, but it's to late now.

"Tasha." I snapped. "Room, mattress, couch, floor, what?"

She glared at me. "Don't get snappy with me, Eva. You remember you're a guest here."

"_You'll_ remember that I didn't want to be here in the first bloody place and that it was _your_ persistent whining that's to blame! I've haven't slept a second in over three days, I am _not_ in the mood! Either, tell me where to sleep or I drive back to New York, _tonight_!"

"You wouldn't get there tonight, and in your condition we wouldn't let you out the door!"

I'd like to see them try and stop me. "You just _watch_ me!"

"You're not going anywhere until you've had a few good hours sleep."

Tasha and I stared at Jacob like he'd grown another head. No one _ever_ cut in when we were fighting, for fear of their lives. And who the hell gave him the rights to order me around?

"Excuse me?" I snarled. "Who the hell asked you? You can't dictate what I do and don't do anyway so shut the fuck up!" I ignored him then and snapped my attention back to Tasha. "So, what's it going to be?"

"Up the stairs, first door on your right,"

I looked at Sam, surprised, and nodded my thanks. Grabbing my bag I took stalked past my sister and without looking at her said. "I'm leaving in the morning, this is complete bullshit. I should never have come back here."

"Evie…"

"Good night." I took the stairs two at a time and threw open the first door on the right and slammed it shut. It was childish, I know, but there is something oddly satisfying about slamming doors when you're angry. Throwing my bag at the end on the single bed and opening the window, I took a deep calming breath of forest air and kicked off my boots.

Slipping out of my shirt and jeans and not bothering about finding my pyjamas, I crawled under the clean sheets and stared at the ceiling. Five minutes here and I've already made a scene and gotten so worked up I could've gutted someone with a kitchen knife. Granted, it was _exactly_ my fault, but I probably flew off the handle just a teeny, tiny bit.

Rolling over I tried to turn off my brain and eventually fell asleep to the sound of pouring rain.

**A/N: Soooo? What did you think? Please, please review and let me know. I'm still nervous about whether or not this story is worth continuing…Evie isn't really a bitch, well, not always. But three days without sleep _will_ put some strain on ones moods, lol.  
**

**This chapter is early, usually I'll try to update once a week or so. I shouldn't be overloading myself that way, which is what I'm really trying not to do. **

**I'd love to hear what you think of this one!**

**Have a lovely day, til next time, **

**~Meg xx**


	3. Falling

**A/N: Thank you so much to **_**rivierlina**_**, **_**brightglo **_**and **_**kiki **_**for their reviews, (: Please keep it up! Hope you like this one! **

**Chapter 3: Falling**

My heart hammered in my chest as I sat bolt upright, clasping my hands over my mouth to swallow my scream. The blankets that had been protecting me from the chilly Washington air pooled in my lap and goose bumps covered my sweaty skin.

Looking around and remembering where I was, I tried to bring my body back to normal. _It's just a dream._ I chanted, over and over again. _That's over, gone. You're safe. It's okay. _The tears crept into my eyes as I buried my head into the pillow and let them escape. My hand flew straight to the scar on my lower abdomen that ran across to my right hip and traced the outline of it.

It was still healed, had been for months. But I just had to check. Breathing out a sigh of relief and wiping my eyes, I slipped out of the bed and found my bag. Digging around in it I pulled out a pair of trackies, a tank top and a hoddie before letting it drop to the floor again.

Retrieving my phone from my jeans I decided to leave my things the way they were for now in favour of going in search for food. I would have rather just left, preferably without seeing anyone, but I was dying of starvation and…I really needed to hug my sister, or better, Leah, since she would actually know what was wrong.

I've had dreams for a while. Some were worse then others. Not all agents were unlucky and had them, but I'd obviously missed out on the luck. They weren't dreams really; just a replay of the events that, half the time, reduced me to a blubbering mess.

I shrugged it off and zipped up the grey hoddie, making sure all my tattoos were covered as I opened the door and wandered down stairs. I was met with the sight of Emily in the kitchen, but the rest of the house seemed deserted.

She looked up as I leant against the bench and smiled warmly. "Morning, Eva, how are you feeling?"

"Like I've been run over, a few dozen times," I bit my lip, it wasn't her fault. "I'm sorry about, you know, last night. I was kinda…bitchy."

She chuckled softly. "It's alright, you were tried and I know how over bearing this lot can be. Hungry?"

"Starving," I grinned thankfully. "Speaking of the rest of them, you wouldn't know where they are would you? I should say goodbye to some of them before I leave."

"Well, your sister is with Rachel, Georgie and Kim, they just walked to the store and where the others are will be anyone's guess." She pulled a plate of pancakes out of the oven and handed them to me. "I don't think you'll be getting out soon though, there was a lot of rain last night. We can't drive anywhere."

I groaned. "That'd be right. Now I'm going to have to con Maddy into looking after my dog longer. Thanks for the food, Emily."

She smiled and waved it off. "It's no problem, Eva. You know your welcome here for as long as you need."

Nodding, I took a mouthful of the warm pancakes and moaned in pleasure. I hadn't eaten anything this good in ages. "Thanks, and this is fantastic." She was being far too nice to me, especially after my mood last night.

She laughed and opened the fridge. "Well, save room for lunch."

"Lunch?"

"Uh huh, it'll be ready in about an hour. Everyone will turn up again, no doubt."

"It's _eleven AM?_" I'd been asleep for hours! "Urgh, thanks for breakfast." I wandered out onto the veranda, plate still in hand, and fell into the big comfy chair out there. Emily was right, the whole outside world looked like a swamp. My Ferrari was sitting in about an inch of water but there didn't look like many better places to park it.

This was just brilliant.

I must have dozed off again because I was woken by the murmur of voices. I didn't open my eyes for a while, trying instead to hear what they were saying, but it all sounded muffled and slurred to my ears. I really needed a better sleeping pattern.

Opening my green eyes, I was instantly met with Leah's steady brown gaze.

"Hey, sleepy head," She muttered to me, reaching up and tucking hair behind my ear. "So this is what you've been doing all day? Lazy bum."

I chuckled and rubbed my eyes. "Shuddup, what's going on?"

"Lunch time…you okay, Evie?" She sat next to me, giving me a scrutinizing look.

I forced a smile and lolled my head onto her shoulder. "I just wanna sleep forever." My voice was still slurred from sleep.

"Yeah well, tough luck, honey."

"How long til it dries out?"

"Don't you remember when it rained here?"

"Brilliant. I hope there aren't any emergencies 'cause I won't be coming. Unless they air lift me out." I sighed and sat up properly so I could stretch. Only to have the wound on my leg shoot waves of pain up my calf. "God, this is not my day."

Leah just smirked and shook her head, oblivious to my pain and pulled me to my feet. "Come on, you've gotta eat something else. Then you may go lie down if you wish."

"How many mothers do I have? Seriously, you, Sue, Tash, Maddy…you lot are more mothering then my actual mother!" Must be because their all older…Leah and Maddy were both four years older then me, and Tasha was two.

"You're stubborn as a mule, and prone to stupid accidents." Tash called, smiling. "You need lots of mothers to keep you out of trouble."

I snorted. "You do a terrible job."

"Evie," Jacob said brightly, smiling so much I thought his cheeks would break. "How are you?" He pulled out the chair next to him, presumably for me. Unfortunately for him, I have a strong 'keep away from weirdoes as much as possible' rule.

"Jacob. Oh, you know, surviving…kinda. Hey, Seth, shove over."

Seth rolled his eyes but moved so I could sit next to him none the less. I didn't miss the uncertain look he shot Jacob though. "Certainly princess, is there anything else I can do for you?"

"Yeah, find my phone, it hasn't rung so it means I've lost it, or it's died. Move my baby out of the water and get me some heavy duty pain killers, don't call me princess, oh, and while you're at it, pass the mashed potatoes."

His eyes lit up and the potatoes appeared in front of me. "So I can drive the Ferrari?"

"No, I want you to pick it up and carry it out of the water." I smirked, resting my head on my palm and wincing as the stiches in my leg from the stray grenade shrapnel pulled and spread with a burning sensation. "I'll let you if you're good and if you do that other stuff for me, please?"

He grinned and leapt up out of his seat, asking Emily where the pain killers were.

"Hey!" Kevin protested. "How come he gets to drive it?"

"Cause he's a good boy and I like him." I bit my lip at the throbbing-it was getting worse. Then I remembered my phone. "Seth! Don't worry about my phone, I'm sitting on it!"

"Okay."

"Are you sure you're alright?" Leah asked from my other side, eyeing me uncertainly.

"I will be, as soon as my new manservant gets back. Ah, there he is now." I smiled at him while biting the inside of my mouth as he handed me a couple of small white tablets and a glass of water.

"What's wrong?" Jacob asked, strangely concerned.

"Do you want me to move it now?" Seth asked eagerly.

Swallowing the tablets and washing them down, I tugged on his arm to make him sit. "Eat your lunch first."

"I think I'll have to assess that it's safe for him to drive," Quil declared. "Test it out a little, gotta look after the younger ones, right?"

I gave him a dry look. "No."

I gasped at the pain now, the tablets wouldn't kick in for a few minutes yet. And that's if they were a strong kind, I think the morphine just wore off. _Shit!_ Shuffling around in my chair and getting really odd looks, I put my leg in Leah's lap and pulled up my pants leg, revealing the thirteen red, angry stitches.

Leah swore. "What the _hell_ did you do?"

"Never mind what I did! Do something about it! It bloody hurts you know!" I screwed my eyes shut and mentally cursed Tyler, why couldn't he have produced a type of morphine that wore off slowly instead of his here-one-minute-gone-the-next stuff. I could almost see him scowl at me.

'_The additive of the accelerated healing formula affects the reaction time of the morphine; it takes affect faster but wears off quicker.' _He would lecture; he always gets shitty when the field agents complained about his work. _'So, would you rather you heal faster or have morphine that wears off slower?'_

'_Shut up, Tyler.'_

"Seth, go get her some more pain killers and whatever cream Emily has for this kind of thing. Damnit, Eva, is it infected?" Leah ordered urgently.

I chanced a look at it and shook my head. "Don't think so, but it hurts."

By this time Sam and Jake and Tash had leapt from their seats and crowded around us to look. What is this, some kind of side show? The rest were all trying to get a look in to.

"What happened?" Jacob demanded, his warm hand closing around my ankle and turning my leg gently to look at it better.

"What's it to you?" Even in pain, I am capable on being stubborn.

"My God, Evie! Why didn't you tell me about this?" Tasha cried, clasping my hand and squeezing it. She looked like a deer caught in the headlights, blinded by panic.

Did I pack morphine? I should've, better not let Seth get it though. I think I packed a hand gun as well.

"Tash, calm down." I grabbed her arm and shook her to get her full attention. "I need you to go to the room I slept in and dig around in my bag until you find a little white bag and bring it back."

"I don't think it's infected." Sam concluded, looking at me with a mix of concern and disappointment. "You should've told someone about this." He had no right to be disappointed! I hadn't had anything to do with over half these people in years. I shouldn't be a concern to them!

"I had it all under control." I protested, trying to ignore Jacob as he stood next to me, clenching and unclenching his fists. "I just slept to long and forgot to keep the morphine up and it wore off."

"Morphine?" Jacob exclaimed.

"Oh would you just knock it off already?" I cried. "You're not helping and you're annoying the shit out of me! Take a box of chill pills and calm down. What is your deal anyway?"

"Who did this to you?" He asked, in a low dangerous tone.

"What do you mean who did this to me? I fell out of a tree for god's sake, my leg tor on a branch on the way down!" Hopefully that's a believable lie.

"Jacob." Sam warned, putting a hand on his arm as he started shaking.

"Then you should be more careful!"

"_Jacob_!"

"Mind you're own business!" I rolled my eyes. "This just gets more and more insane."

He was really shaking now. What the hell? What he having some kind of seizure? Luckily Sam towed him outside as Tasha came running back to us with the white bag. Sighing in relief, I plucked it out of her hand and pulled out a bottle labelled 'morphine AH' and a needle and syringe. Measuring up the right dosage and rolling up my sleeve I pushed the needle into the correct spot and slowly injected the contents.

Dropping the needle back into the bag, remembering to chuck it later, I rubbed my face with my free hand while I bet my other arm to keep the pressure.

"Did I miss something?" Tasha asked, being more used to me administering needles to myself then everyone else.

"Yes, if I was standing, I'd have slapped Black about five minutes ago. Is he always such an interfering ass?"

"He's just concerned about you," Embry said. "Do you always do these weird things?"

"Yeah, pretty much."

Paul laughed. "He sure knows how to pick them." The other guys all chuckled a bit too, as if this were some kind of inside joke, which it probably was.

I frowned. "Pick what?"

He gave me a knowing smirk. "Nothing,"

I rolled my eyes and looked up at my sister. "Did I mention this was bullshit?" I should really hit Paul. How the hell does Rachel put up with him long enough to date him? I always knew that girl was crazy.

Tasha rubbed my shoulders worriedly. "It'll be fine, it won't be that bad. I'm sure Jake didn't mean to annoy you. Will you be alright? When did you do that?"

I hate it when she thinks I need pacifying. I looked down at my leg as Leah applied the cream that Seth had found and sighed at the coolness it brought to my hot skin. "It's only three days old, I'll be fine. I must've just pulled the stitches to much in my sleep, because it's not infected. It'll just take a day or so longer to heal up."

Sam came back in with Jake on his heels, eagerly looking over to me. I scrunched up my nose. '_Oh great, here we go again.' _

"Are you alright, Evie? I'm sorry about before."

I snorted, very lady like. "Whatever." Tash smacked the side of my head. "_Ow_! What was that for?"

"He just apologised, you know better to reply to apologies then with '_whatever_'," The mimicking was annoying and I did _not _sound like that. "Manners, young lady, I know you've got them!"

I rolled my eyes again. "Yes mother." I fixed Jacob's hopeful face with a bored I'm-only-doing-this-because-I'm-being-made look. "Apology accepted." He beamed. "On the conditions that you stop being such a weirdo and leave me alone." He deflated, like a rubber boat after having a big nail jammed in it.

"Eva!"

"What?"

Tash groaned. "I give up, your impossible."

"Thank you, it's about time." I pushed away the bodies around us and sent Leah a grateful smile. "Thanks for being one of the few who didn't completely freak out."

She shrugged it off nonchalantly, but I could see the corners of her mouth lifting up in a smile. "I'm used to you, remember."

I laughed and nodded in agreement. "Fair point," Shooing my shadows away further I gingerly stood up, keeping the weight off my leg as I let the morphine take a bit more affect.

"Evie, I don't think that you should…" Sam started and Jacob opened his mouth to protest to, but a withering glare shut it again.

"Bossy, clucky, so and so's," I muttered and Leah burst out laughing. I sent her a look to, but it was drowned out by the grin. "Be quiet you." Limping out in the open some more, I steadily aloud that leg to take its fair share of my weight. But, it got too much for it and it buckled under me. Letting out a surprised yelp that I couldn't contain, I awaited the impact with the floor and was more surprised when it didn't come.

Warm, strong arms encircled themselves around my waist and I was stopped in that position, hanging between upright and flat on the floor. Twisting in the hold I blinked up at Jacob's wide eyes. The way he was looking at me was indescribable. He looked thrilled and scared and angry and worried and a million other things, all at once. It looked like it would be painful.

"Um, thanks?" I ventured unsurely. It was like he was frozen, just staring at me. "Uh…Jacob?"

He blinked, and grinned. "Yeah?" His reply was husky, and sent shivers down my spine.

"You can set me straight and let me go now." _'What the hell? Bad body, bad!'_

"Oh." He pulled me up right and ran his hands up my sides then latched onto my forearms as I got my feet under me. Did he just…

"Let go, I've got it under control."

He didn't look convinced. "Are you sure?"

I glared at him, gratitude gone and replaced with annoyance and a hint of anger at being, what felt like, half-heartedly felt up. "Yes, now get off me."

He stepped away, hurt consuming his expressions and I felt a twinge of guilt by it, but brushed it off. _He _was the one being creepy. Every time he saw me it was like Christmas come early on his face, when I snapped at him it was easy to see him slag. It was ridicules! We hadn't even been that overly close as kids, I mean sure, we played and what not. But I spent just as much time with him as I did with Embry and Quil and the other guys. I usually spent most of my young years, that I could recall clearly, over at the Clearwater's.

So I didn't get his behaviour, not one bit. I looked back at everyone else, obviously confused. They were all smiling, like they all knew something I didn't. I arched an eyebrow. "Seth, brother, eat up! I haven't tested my baby in wet conditions yet, but if we get bogged, which we probably will, then _you _get to con Sam into pulling us out. _And _you have to help me wash it."

He nodded enthusiastically and turned back to his food. Smiling, I spun around on that leg and didn't collapse. Ignoring Jacob's panicked yelp-yeah, he's weird-I snatched up the little white bag and skipped up the stairs back to my room. I frowned at all my up ended clothes on the bed; Tash had obviously been in a hurry. My gun was hiding under a black shirt so I grabbed it and a handful of the scattered clothing and shoved it back into the bag.

"Now, where'd I put the keys?" I changed out of the trackies and painlessly dressed my wound and wound a bandage around it then slipped into a pair of dark blue jeans. Checking my phone while spinning my keys around my index finger I was surprised to find there hadn't been any calls, and it wasn't flat. Usually the damn thing never shut up. I wasn't about to complain about the peace though, setting it on the bed side table I went back down stairs.

I was immediately met by a worked up Jacob. Sam obviously isn't any good at pacifying.

"You shouldn't be walking around, and definitely not driving in these conditions!" He said before I'd even stepped off the stairs. "You should be lying down, resting! What if you hurt yourself again? Or pop your stitches? Or…"

"I'm not made of glass." I snapped. "Did I ask for your opinion? Huh? No, didn't think so." I tried to walk past him but his hand shot out and grabbed my arm, spinning me around to face him and slamming me up against his bare, hot chest. I had to tilt my head back to look him in the face since he absolutely towered over me. He had to be at least 7', much taller then my usually adequate 5'9". My heart rate went up ten fold, not because of _that_ reason, and my blood began to boil.

"I can't let you get in that car." He said slowly, almost painfully, his eyes practically begging me to obey him. "Please, Evie."

"If you do not let me go, in the next two seconds," I hissed dangerously. "I will kick your arse into the middle of next week. Get your hands off me, Black."

He looked a cross between angry and sad. "I can't let you get hurt!"

I ripped myself out of his hold and took three large steps away from him. "Touch me again and you'll regret it. Coming, Seth?" I turned to look at the younger boy and frowned as his eyes flicked between me and Jacob nervously. Everyone else was watching us with baited breaths.

"U-uh, s-sure?" He stuttered and gulped and seemed to shrink away.

Turning in confusion to look at Black again I froze when I saw him shaking and glaring at Seth like he was going to kill him. His jaw and fists were clenched so hard I could almost hear his teeth grinding.

As soon as he took a step towards Seth I came out of my state, somewhere in the background I heard Sam yell something but I couldn't understand and honestly didn't care.

In the blink of an eye I stepped between Black and Seth just as he lunged for him and my fist connected with his jaw with a familiar crack. Jacob toppled sideways from the momentum of the punch and I spun around to deliver a round house kick to his lower stomach.

He crashed into the wall and slid to the floor, shock written all over his face and blood trickling out of the corner of his mouth. My hand and foot stung more then they usually would from such simple blows but my target did look to be made of stone. Everything was eerily silent and the only thing I could heard was my breathing and Jacob's. He was staring at me, as his chest rose and fell deeply.

"If you _ever_, come at him like that again, or even _look_ at him with the slightest intent of hurting him, I _will_ kill you. Do you understand?" I snarled.

He looked extremely lost. "Y-you…your not…your hand…w-what?"

I narrowed my eyes. "Go and see a psychiatrist. Stay the fuck away from me, got it?" I turned and walked away. The faces of the rest were all similar to his, shocked and unbelieving. "Haven't you lot ever seen a punch before? This was a marvellous idea, Tasha. Let's spend a weekend with loonies! Are you alright?" I put a hand on Seth's arm and he blinked.

"How did you do that?" Sam asked, looking at me oddly.

Leah let out a whoop of laughter and doubled over in her chair. "Way to go, Eva!"

I raised an eyebrow. "You guys really need to get out more. I've got to get out of here, are you coming or not, Seth?"

"How come he's the lucky one?" Embry muttered, pouting at me playfully. My mood lightened quickly, which I blame on the morphine mix. They chop and change pretty quickly at the best of times, it just get worse after the injections. It's like having a monthly and a sugar high at the same time.

I grinned at him, pushing all thoughts of Black to the back of my mind. "Because he's the closest thing I've ever had to a brother and I've missed most of his birthdays and don't see or spend nearly enough time with him. I've gotta make it up to him some how."

"You don't have to," Leah said. "I'm sure he'll live."

I smirked at her. "You'll get a ride too."

"Oh good,"

I laughed and latched hold of Seth's arm and lead him outside to the car. He followed me a little dumbly and he sighed when I gave him a questioning look. "He didn't mean anything bad,"

I groaned. "Don't even start to defend him. I don't want to hear it. I better drive first since I don't know how she handles water and mud. Sue and Leah will kill me if you get hurt…I'll kill me." The ground squelched under my feet as I unlocked it and got in, gesturing for Seth to do so as well only briefly wondering if his large frame would indeed fit inside.

"I don't need protecting you know, Evie." He said, amused.

I snorted, watching a crowd appear on the veranda. "Everyone needs protecting from something."

He went silent for a moment, contemplating my words before he replied tentatively. "Even you?"

I looked at him and he looked back, trying to match me stare for stare. His face looked so open and honest, filled with curiosity. He was two years younger then me, and six years younger then Leah. I had photos at home of the three of us when we were little, playing, getting into trouble, all sprawled out on the living room floor fast asleep. The Clearwater's were sometimes more like a family then my own was. I spent at least half of my six years here with them, if not more. I knew Harry and Sue better then my own parents.

I really owed it to him and Leah and Sue to make up for the time I've missed. I sent birthday cards and letters and presents, but I knew it wasn't the same. Since that's all my mother ever did these days. As far as I was concerned, those three, Maddy and her family and Tash were the only family I had.

All my Grandparents were dead, had been for most of my life and I'd never even met my mother's parents. My father was dead and his only sibling was Sam's dad Joshua, who hadn't been heard from in years. I'd only met the man once or twice anyway. When the divorce took place Tash and I had taken Mum's maiden name, it just felt like cutting the last tie. Mother was an only child, and Sam's mother was also dead. So my only blood relatives alive were Tasha, Sam, and Mum. The last two of which I barely had anything to do with.

I forced a smile, and tried to make it reassuring. It was too late for me to be protected; I'd already faced demons and had ghosts haunting my memories. But he didn't need to know that. "Nah, I'm too tough for that." I winked at him and he grinned.

"So what's the power in this thing?" I was glad he had the mind of typical boys and could easily be distracted by fast cars.

Grinning at him I started her up and relaxed at the soothing sound of the engine roaring to life like a monster that had been dormant for decades. "My baby does naught to sixty in three point one seconds and a hundred in six point six. It's a six litre V12 engine and six speed semi-automatic. Top speed is three hundred and sixty three kilometres an hour, but a friend of mine made a few alterations and now she can do four hundred and twelve." I laughed at the look on his face. Kid in a candy shop. "The 430 Scuderia is said to be faster, but after Tyler had a play with this I highly doubt that."

"Can we go?" He asked eagerly.

I smirked. "Put your seatbelt on, and don't be sick in my car, got it?"

He nodded and did as I instructed, watching with acute interesting as I adjusted the settings. "Mud, mud, mud…there isn't a mud." I muttered. "Why isn't there a mud setting?" I'd have to bug Tyler about a mud setting. There were the usual settings, normal, snow, ice, fast, really fast-I had Ty rename them to things I readily understood-but no 'water and mud'.

Seth chuckled at my musings and I tossed him a mock glare, he shut up anyway. Settling on the snow setting, since I figured that would be the closest and dropped it into reverse and hit the accelerator.

"Woah!" He yelped and grabbed the dash as I whipped it round and ploughed forward. I laughed. "Told you." The mud and water sprayed up and coated the outside in moments but I was pleased as she handled it reasonably well. At the first good clear open spot I dropped into a burnout, covering everything in close radius in chocolaty coloured sludge.

I wasn't game to try too much else with someone else in with me. It wasn't just my life I'd be playing with. I gunned the engine and the tyres spun as we took off down a straight, then I abruptly jerked the wheel to the side and we whipped into a drift before I turned again and slammed the brakes.

Seth's eyes were the widest I'd ever seen them and I had trouble containing my laughter as I drove back to Sam's at a more respectful pace. When we stopped the others came towards us but he still hasn't said anything.

I frowned. "Seth?"

Tasha, having trundled through the mud, ripped my door open and glared at me. "What the hell was that?"

"That. Was. AWESOME!" Seth's very loud declaration startled us both as he leapt out of the car and immediately began explaining and gloating to the others about it. I smiled and shook my head, looking up at my sister, satisfied.

"That was fun, Tashie." I smiled innocently at her. She threw her hands up, defeated. I slipped out and surveyed the muddiness, easily fixed. "I could get out of here no worries." I said proudly. "She handles fantastically- who knew snow and mud would be that similar." The celebrating stopped and they all looked at me. I frowned. "What?"

"You're leaving?" Jacob asked, he looked like someone had just run over his grandmother. I looked at Seth and found him staring at his feet dejectedly.

I sighed and prayed to anyone listening that what I was about to say wasn't going to come back to haunt me. "I said I _could_ get out, not I was going to." _'Please oh please don't come back and bite me in the arse.'_ I begged silently. "I've got a couple of debts to settle, and I always pay back what I owe, right, Seth?"

He let out an excited whoop and picked me up, crushing me in a warm hug. Leah flung an arm around my shoulders when her brother released me. "Can I drive now?" He asked excitedly.

I exchanged a look with Leah, she rolled her eyes. "Can I make him my apprentice _please_? Please, Leah? Please, please, please? It'll be ages before Benny will be old enough, and I really want one, please!"

She sighed, going along with me. "So long as you promise not to kill him...I suppose so."

"Yes!" I grinned at Seth. "This is gonna be awesome, you'll see. You'll kick everyone's arse at everything when I'm done with you, starting with driving lessons."

He matched my grin with a bigger one. "Thanks Leah!"

She rolled her eyes again and muttered something about children. Embry and Quil, dynamic duo, were both pouting. "If we agree to, can we drive?"

"Only one apprentice at a time, and besides," I smirked. "You can't teach old dogs new tricks."

"OI!"

Sam laughed, but looked a little apprehensive. "It'll be good to have you around, Evie. Just…don't break anything."

"Yeah yeah, whatever you say." I waved him off nonchalantly. "Lesson number one, race starts. When you want to go, you need to go straight away, no slowly does it." I chucked my new apprentice the keys and smiled at his overly excited grin. "Get in, chop chop, we don't have all day!"

I skidded around to the passenger side and just put one foot inside when a hand covered the one holding onto the door. I looked up into Jacob's eyes and tensed, feeling my heart start thumping again. "Look Black…"

"I'm glad you're staying, Evie, I really am." He said softly, staring into my eyes like he could see into my soul. Then he squeezed my hand, let it go and stepped back out of the way, smiling at me all the while.

"C'mon, Evie!" Seth whined impatiently, breaking my confused gaze from Jacob.

Shaking my head in an attempt to brush off the weird behaviour, I got in and shut the door, turning my full attention to the eager kid sitting next to me, awaiting his first instructions.

**A/N: And there you have it. She's staying (how could she not? Lol) This chapter is a little longer then I had previously thought, hope you don't mind. Don't know if they will be common or not yet. **

**And she punched Jacob Black, alpha-destined-indestructible-werewolf, and didn't break anything! Wonder why that is…? :P. **

**Lol, pretty pleeeaaaassse review and let me know what you think! Please?  
**

**Til next time, **

**~Meg xx**


	4. Truce

**A/N: Special thanks to **_**brightglo**_** and **_**RANDOM COOKIE NINJA**_** for their reviews. ^.^ Here's chapter 4, enjoy! **

**Chapter 4: Truce**

Seth was a very good student. He was a quick learner and took in everything I told him with complete seriousness. Which pretty much had him getting things right the first time around. That was probably a good thing since I wasn't the most patient person.

His was quite happy to sit in the car and let me explain things to him all day. He even skipped lunch in favour of having the engine explained to him in full detail. Of course, I'd left out some of the '_improvements_' that had been done to it, but he was very keen on meeting Tyler. Master of all things car-upgrading related in Seth's eyes. Ty would be thrilled.

Our lessons stopped, though, when Sam had appeared and waved us over, my pupil had then had to go help Paul with something. I'd found it rather strange, why can't Paul handle his own damn problems? Seth was _my_ adoptive brother, goddamit.

I'd let it go though, knowing how the res worked, and promised him we'd pick up where we left off. I think he was worried I'd go while he was away and that hurt more then I'd expected it to.

When I got back to Sam's Jacob was sitting on the front step and he watched every step I took towards him, seemingly enthralled by the way I walked. I raised an eyebrow cautiously when he stood and smiled shyly at me.

"Hey, Evie," His voice was deep and husky and I searched his face for a bruise but found none. I frowned. _'Why wasn't there a bruise?'_

"How did it go?" He asked.

'_There should have been a bruise, a big one. I got him good.' _My pride complained greatly at this, didn't the boy bruise?

He waved a hand in front of my face. "Eva?"

I blinked. "What?"

"I asked how it went…with Seth." He added, lowly and a small scowl appeared on his face.

I stepped around him. "Great, he's doing really well." I heard him growl behind me then his heavy footsteps as he followed me inside. The place was deserted, oddly enough. It felt weird for it to be so quiet and still.

"What's so great about Seth?" He snapped

'_Alright, that does it!_' Whirling around, I was a little startled that he was only about a foot in front of me, but got over it quickly and glared at him. "What _is_ your problem? Really, tell me, I want to know! Your behaviour is not acceptable, Black! I won't put up with you talking to him, or about him, like that, _ever. _Seth is the closest thing I have to a brother and I've neglected him for a long time. Not that it's any business of yours who I spend my time with, so just back off!"

He blinked and looked at me guiltily, his shaking subsiding slowly. '_What is it with the shaking_?' "I'm sorry, Evie." He reached out to me but I slapped his hand away and stepped back further.

"I want an explanation, now." I folded my arms. "Since you obviously don't take any notice when I tell you to leave me alone-since your still here. So, I want to know why."

"Why?" He repeated slowly, rubbing the back of his neck nervously.

"Yes, that's what I said. So there isn't anything wrong with your hearing after all."

He gave me another of his unreadable looks. "I just want to spend some time with you. I missed you."

"Right, that's why Embry and Quil are harassing me to."

"They're _what_?"

"_See_? That's what I'm talking about. What _is _that reaction? It's not normal, Black, and I refuse to be apart of your stupid game." I spun on my heel and started towards the stairs.

"Wait! Please, just give me a chance. We were friends before weren't we? Can't we at least try and get that back?" He sounded desperate, like his life depended on me granting what he wanted.

No one survives long when their lives depend on me. "If I hear of you giving my little brother shit again, you'll regret it."

"Evie please!"

"Goodbye, Black." _'You crack brained, steroid taking, loopy, hot, idiot.'_ Urgh. Just shut up brain, okay? Just be quiet.

Gah, this place is just so strange. Thank god I don't actually live here anymore. Maybe I could just take Leah and Sue and Seth back to New York for a holiday? That could work. I made a mental note to ask them later, but right now I need a shower.

The rest of the day was slow and uneventful. I didn't see anyone apart from Sam, Emily and Tash again, so dinner that night was a much calmer affair.

"How long do you think you'll be able to stay?" Tasha asked as we helped clean up.

I shrugged unknowingly. "Who knows, I only said I'd be out of town for three days. I could just put myself on call, but I'm so far away I'd need lots of warning. What about you?" She had her own florist business at home.

"I've got a week off, but Reece is graduating from Uni so I have to be back in time for that." She replied. Reece was her boyfriend of nineteen months and was just about to finish his major in Phycology. I don't particularly like him, mostly because every time I see him he tries to get inside my head and 'figure me out'.

"Uh huh, isn't it wonderful dating a guy who works with nutcases?"

She rolled her eyes and gave me a look. "There's nothing wrong with Reece, he's a great guy."

"He's a pain in the arse and a nosy git."

"He does sound a little sketchy…" Sam imputed, as he dropped the dishes in the sink.

"How is it the only thing you two will agree on is that you don't like my boyfriend?" Tash asked.

Sam and I traded a look- we traded a look! –and shrugged. "Must mean we're right then," I said cheekily. "If he tries to guinea pig me again I'll see to it that he never reproduces."

Sam chuckled and Tasha groaned. "What if I marry him? Then what, will you never come see me again?"

"I shall pray that you _don't _marry him and if you do, I'll only be seeing you when he isn't there." She scowled at me and handed me a towel to wipe up as Sam washed. I nearly groaned out loud.

"I think I'll have to meet him," The massive man next to me said.

I snorted. "You don't want to, unless you plan on scaring him off." I didn't hate Sam that much to submit him to Reece's torture. I leaned closer to him so Tasha didn't hear. "His full name is Reece Albert Mental, no joke."

Sam's eyebrows shot to the top of his head. "And he's going to be a psychiatrist?"

I nodded. "What would the slogan be? 'See Dr. Mental and get your mental problems fixed?" We were silent for a moment before dissolving into laughter, affectively gaining Emily and Tash's attentions.

"Not that I'm not thrilled that you pair seem to be getting along," Tasha said, fixing us both with stern looks. "But couldn't you have bonded over something else then laughing at Reece's expense?"

I grinned. "Probably not, you've got to admit though; having a psychiatrist named Reece _Mental_, _is _pretty funny."

She tried and failed to fight off the smile. "Maybe…"

Sam and I laughed again.

"Listen, Evie," Sam started nervously as the laughter died down and the other two ventured into the living room. "Do you think we could start over? Or make a truce?"

I raised my eyebrows. "A truce, between us?"

"I know I'm not your favourite person, and we were never that close to start with, but I'd really like us to be friends." Now, why did that speech sound familiar?

"I still think you're an arse for what you did to Leah." I said bluntly.

He grimaced. "I think I'm an arse for what I did to Leah, it wasn't intentional and I really didn't mean to hurt her…"

"Sam, you dumped her for her cousin, how does that not mean to hurt her?"

"I know I know, but I didn't plan it. I just…loved Emily more. I didn't think it was fair to be with her when I didn't have those feelings for her anymore." He did look genuinely sorry, but forgiving him felt like betraying Leah.

I sighed. "She's my best friend. I don't know if I can forgive you for breaking her heart, even if you are my cousin. However," I chewed on my bottom lip thoughtfully. It was blatantly obvious that he loved Emily with every inch of his being, and he was trying to make an effort here. Maybe it was time to lighten up on him. "However, I think I could agree to a truce at least, and not murder you in your sleep or something."

He grinned. "I'd like that. I'm really glad you're here, Evie."

I offered him a smile. "It hasn't killed me…yet. And I think I kinda like you guys, some of you, anyways." _Bloody Jacob Black…stop thinking about him then!_

He let the plug go in the sink and wiped his hands on another towel. "Can I ask you something?"

I glanced at him wearily as I put the last of the dishes away. "I suppose?"

"When you punched Jacob…didn't it hurt?"

Ah. I'd been half wondering when someone would be game and bring that up again. "Firstly, he was out of line and I _won't_ be apologising to him. And honestly, it stung a bit, nothing drastic," I then gestured to my leg. "I've felt worse."

He nodded thoughtfully.

"Why?"

"Nothing, it's just…odd, is all."

I chuckled. "Odd? Haven't you even seen anyone get punched before?"

"Of course I have, just no one's come out as good as you did after hitting _him_. You don't…hate the kid, do you?"

I scoffed. "Why is everyone sticking up for him? As far as I'm concerned he got what was coming to him, and he _still_ won't leave me alone! What's his problem?"

"It's complicated," Sam said a bit too quickly, if you ask me. "Maybe you could just give him a chance? He isn't as bad as you think."

I rolled my eyes. "If I didn't know any better I'd say you were trying to set me up with him. Aren't you supposed to be all protective and stuff?"

"I'm not telling you to date him, I'm suggesting you just…spend some time with him, clear the air a bit. I don't want your time here shadowed by hating him. I'd like it if you came back." He smiled. "He's not doing anything tomorrow, why don't you let him show you around?"

"Or I could just avoid him and you could tell him to stay away from me." I suggested brightly.

He sighed. "Jake and the boys spend a lot of time here, we're a pretty close group, I want you to be apart of it. I can't have you fighting and possibly breaking things all the time." He put a warm, large hand on my shoulder and squeezed lightly. "Please, Evie?"

I groaned and tilted my head to the side, looking at him pleadingly. He held firm. Great. "Fine," I rolled my eyes. "He can show me around, but one foot out of line and I hit him again and he has to stay away, deal?"

Sam gave me another of the bright grins that they all seemed to have and pulled me into a hug. "Deal, I'll tell him to come round at nine?"

Unsurely I wrapped my arms around his waist and hugged him back. He was unbelievably hot, like seriously, his skin was just about scalding me. Clearing my throat and gently detaching myself, I nodded. "Make it ten. I'm going over to Sue's early." I'd agreed to a truce, not love him unconditionally.

He grinned again. "Great, he'll be thrilled."

"Uh huh," Que rolling of the eyes. "That's nice, I'm gonna go to bed, so…see you in the morning."

He nodded and smiled. "Night, Evie."

"G'night, Sam. Night ladies!" I yelled as I ventured towards my room.

"Sleep well, honey!" Tasha called back and Emily wished me the same. God I hated being the youngest some times. "And, Evie?"

I sighed and poked my head around the corner and blinked at my sister at the bottom of the stairs.

"Thank you." She smiled.

I nodded, knowing that she meant about Sam, and smiled back-a real one. "Yeah, night sis."

"Good night, Evie."

I fell into my bed and closed my eyes as the relaxing coolness of the sheets washed over me. Well, this will either turn out really well or really badly, but maybe…maybe this isn't quite so bad after all.

**A/N: And end of chapter 4. I'm actually staying on track with updating O.o. 'Tis so strange for me…Anywho, this one's a little shorter and I'm not sure how I feel about it….What'd you think?**

**So she doesn't hate Sam with the fire of a thousand suns anymore! :D But, something tells me it's going to take a while for her to warm up to Jake. She's a strange girl, Evie. Lol. **

**Pretty please review! Pretty, pretty, **_**pretty**_** please? ^_^ **

**~Meg xx**


	5. Guilt

**A/N: Hello, lovelies! Hope your all having a wonderful day/night. I'm about ready for bed and it's not even dark yet! Lol. **

**Thank you so very, very much to **_**TempusSimia**_**, **_**brightglo**_**, **_**Mythical Words **_**and **_**Genna**_** for their reviews :). It means so much. I'm getting lots of hits, so thank you all. I would really love to hear your thoughts at the end!**

**Enjoy!**

**Chapter 5: Guilt**

I slept peacefully, for once, and woke up feeling surprisingly good. I threw the covers off and got straight into the shower. It was still overcast so I settled on a pair of light cargo pants and a green t-shirt which I threw my hoddie over. I shoved my phone into my pocket and my feet into sneakers before skipping down the stairs.

Sam was sitting at the table with his nose stuck in a newspaper while Emily moved around the kitchen preparing mountains of toast and what I think were eggs. Tasha wasn't up yet, but then it was only six, and she never got up earlier then seven.

"Morning," Sam said with a smile, folding his newspaper and dropping it on the table.

"Hi. What's the world doing?" I swiped a piece of unbuttered toast and set about smothering it with the creamy substance.

"Not much."

"Uh huh, it always goes on pause when I'm away."

"Ha ha, you're that important are you?" He teased.

I grinned at him. "Of course I am, cuz."

Emily watched me take a bite out of the toast with a frown. "Don't you want something else on that?"

"Nope," I darted around the bench and bee lined for the door.

"Where are you going? You haven't had a proper breakfast yet!" Emily called after me. She probably wasn't used to anyone eating normal amounts of food.

"To wake Leah up, bye!"

"Don't forget Jake will be here at ten!" Sam yelled after me.

"I know!" _'Thanks tones for reminding me.'_ The Clearwater house wasn't to far away so I set off at a jog, taking an old trail that cut through the forest and lead right to their back door. The ground was still wet and mud caked the base of my sneakers pretty quickly. Rustling to my left made me skid to a halt and look around, it was an inbuilt reaction to noise when I'm not expecting it.

The forest was still, the trees acting as a block to any wind there might have been. The only noise I could hear now were birds and the distance sound of waves. I set off again at a walk, my senses on full alert. My ears never played tricks on me. I was trained to hear things that other people missed, see things other people missed.

I went a couple of metres when I heard the light footfalls on soft earth behind me and to my left. I stopped. The feet stopped. I started again and a few seconds later, so did what was following me. It didn't sound like a person, since people only had two feet. This sounded more like my little fluffy mutt did when he wandered aimlessly around my tiny living room at home. So this behind me was probably a stray dog. No major emergencies unless it decided to leap out and maul me. I wasn't far from Leah's now though, so I wasn't worried.

Satisfied that I knew what was going on, I broke into a jog again and before long the little blue house I remembered peaked through the trees. My follower had stopped a few paces back, probably not game to venture near houses.

The Clearwater property was pretty much the same as every other property in La Push. Little house backed onto the forest, no actual yard and a car shed that had seen better days. Sue had an immaculate garden though, and even without the aid of sunlight, she managed to grow just about everything.

I crept up to the back door and listened. There was movement in the kitchen, Sue, but apart from that the house was silent. Taking off my muddy shoes and opening the door quietly, I tip toed down the little hall and poked my head around the door to the kitchen. Sue was in her dark fluffy green dressing gown and matching fuzzy slippers and in the process of making breakfast.

"Good morning, Aunty." I whispered, grinning.

She looked up at me and smiled. "Hello, Evie. How are you, dear?"

"Good, are your children here?"

"Leah is. Seth's out with some of the boys though." She grinned. "You know where to go."

"Great, see you in a sec."

She smiled and waved me off. I crept stealthy up through the living room and up the stairs to Leah's bedroom. Her door was open slightly and I pushed it open a little further so I could assess the situation.

My best friend was flat on her back, fast asleep and snoring lightly. One arm was bent above her head and the other lay across her stomach. The blankets were half on, half off her and one leg was hanging off the bed. This would be a piece of cake.

Pushing the door open further, I stepped towards her, and then at the last minute I leapt onto the bed with a much exaggerated war cry. Her eyes flew open and she let out a strangled scream, trying to get away, which sent us both and all the blankets to the floor with a great 'thump'.

"Evie!" She yelled. "What are you doing, you idiot!" I was to busy laughing to reply. "I could have killed you!" She insisted again, grabbing my arm and hauling me to my feet.

"You should have seen your face!" I doubled over, holding my stomach.

"Retard," She muttered and fell back on her bed with a groan.

"Aww, come on Leelee, smile!" I started poking her repeatedly until she laughed.

"Alright alright, I'm smiling, happy now?"

"Very, come on, your Mum's making breakfast." I tugged on her hand.

"You mean Emily let you out the door without feeding you?" She asked, giving into my pulling and getting up.

"I took a piece of toast and ran, now come on!" Keeping a hold of her hand I lead the way back down stairs. "How come Seth's not at home? Has he got a girlfriend?"

"No, he's with Quil and Brady I think." She said as she moved to the kettle, kissing her mother's cheek on the way past. Everyone might think Leah was a bitch, and she might have been to everyone else, but she was always loving around her family.

"Oh, okay. Doing what?" I sat down at the little table.

"God knows," Leah muttered.

"He'll be fine," Sue chuckled. "On these mornings he goes back to Emily's for breakfast, saves half of my fridge's contents."

I laughed. "They sure can put it away. I don't think I've ever seen so much food consumed at once before in my life."

"It's a Quileute thing." Leah muttered, accepting the equally large plate of French toast Sue was handing her. She sat down at the table as Sue set mine in front of me and sat on my other side.

"How come I don't eat like a starved hippo then?" I loved Sue's French toast, I don't know what she does to it, but you don't get any better anywhere else. She even makes it better then the French do.

"You're not full Quileute…are you insinuating I'm fat?"

"You should be! You should all be, like, four hundred pounds! But _no_, you all look like the Native version of Greek gods."

"Quileute thing," She reminded me, waving her loaded fork in my direction.

I scoffed. "Yeah yeah, whatever, honey. I'm proud of my Irish blood."

"Course you are, that's why you do everything the difficult way." She teased.

"Now girls, stop your bickering and eat." Sue chastised, but she was smiling.

I pointed at Leah childishly. "She started it."

"I did not!"

"Did to!"

"Did not!"

"Well, you're older so you should know better."

"Mum!"

"Enough," Sue laughed. "Eat your breakfast. What are you doing today, Evie? Seth told me you were giving him driving lessons in a Ferrari _Enzo_, whatever that is."

I giggled. "It's the big red car I came in, and yes I gave him lessons yesterday. Don't worry, I won't let anything happen to him. Today's lesson will be '_how to wash a Ferrari Enzo_'."

"Then he can learn '_how to clean his room, like his mother _keeps_ telling him to do'_."

I nodded eagerly. "Sure thing, anything else you want me to teach him?"

"Laundry," Leah said automatically. "And then washing up."

We laughed. "So all you're doing today is domesticating my son?" Sue asked me, smiling.

I shrugged. "I'll start today, might take a while though. Sam's setting me up with Jacob Black. I'm supposed to be back at the house at ten so the little twerp can show me around La Push." I rolled my eyes. "It was pretty pointless to tell him I remember everything, he was pretty intent on getting me to agree."

"You and Jacob? _Alone_? Today?" Leah said slowly, her eyebrows shooting to the top of her head.

I sighed dramatically and nodded. "Sam wants us to get along so I'll like it here and come back or something stupid. Oh, and I've made a truce with cousin to." I watched my best friend carefully for a reaction. _'Please, don't hate me. Pretty please.'_

She nodded slowly. "That's…good."

"Good?" I echoed.

"It is," Sue agreed. "It's time you and Sam calm the seas. He's a good man, Evie."

"So everyone seems to think. What do you think, Leah?"

"I'm not mad at you, if that's what you're asking. I want you to come visit more often to, and that'll be easier if you're not still avoiding your family." She stated. "I don't think your betraying me or anything stupid, Evie."

I smiled. "Good, I would have died if you did."

She smirked and rolled her eyes. "You should have been an actress, you're that dramatic."

Scoffing I waved the idea off. "Not my cup of tea."

"Have you heard from your mother recently?" Sue asked as we cleared the table while Leah ducked up stairs for a shower.

I shook my head. "I haven't spoken to her for ages. She rang Tasha for her birthday about six weeks ago, she was somewhere in England. We hardly hear from her." Ever since she retired from her job but remained a partner in the firm, mother dearest has gone off travelling the world. I rarely had contact with her and saw her even less.

Sue nodded absentmindedly. We were silent as we washed up and cleaned the kitchen. I could tell there was something she wanted to say though; she'd glance at me and open her mouth but quickly dismissed the idea every time. Maybe she knew about Black coming at Seth?

"Evie, sweetheart?" She asked a few minutes later, sounding tentative.

I looked at her with a reassuring smile. "Mmhm?"

She rang the cloth in her hands nervously before abandoning it on the bench top and beckoning me into the living room. She sat down on the old green lounge chair and patted the space next to her. I sat and waited patiently. Whatever she had to tell me was obviously difficult; Sue was normally very open with me.

"What is it, Aunty Sue?" I asked softly, using what I thought was her appropriate title.

She smiled sadly and grabbed both my hands in hers. "Are you alright, Eva? Be honest."

I blinked in surprise. "Yes, I'm alright."

"Now don't get angry…oh, this is more difficult then I thought…" She mused to herself.

I chuckled and squeezed her hands. "I won't be angry, what is it?"

"Leah…told me, about your, _accident_, seven months ago." She said carefully, trying to choose the best words.

My breath hitched in my throat and my stomach seemed to constrict. "W-what?" _'She knew? How many of the others knew to?' _"Does…does Seth…?" '_Oh. My. Dear. God. No.' _

"She was worried and I pried it out of her," Sue explained quickly. "Your secret is safe with us, Evie, I promise. No one else knows, I swear."

"You know?" I asked dumbly. "I mean, you _know_, like…everything?"

"Not everything, I'd say, but I know enough to understand." She smiled and squeezed my hands reassuringly. "You're doing a wonderful thing, Evie."

"Am I?" I whispered, feeling the tears welling up. Could I be anymore pathetic? "It's my fault he's…how can it…" I choked on the rest of the sentence.

"Oh sweetheart, shh," Sue grabbed my shoulders and pulled me to her tightly. "Shh, it's alright. You _are _doing a wondrous thing, I know you are."

I couldn't help it, I cried. Sue held me close and rocked me back and forth, whispering soothing words that eventually reduced me to silent tears. It had been so long since I'd been like this, been in the arms of someone who knew just what to say, in whose eyes I could do no wrong, loved and cherished and safe and _forgiven_.

"Now you listen to me, Eva Hanson, what happened that day was not your fault, understand?" She held me back and wiped the tears away with her thumbs while staring me in the eye. "There was no way you could have known, no more tears now, my darling. Your brave and beautiful and smart, what you do takes so much strength and such character…I will not stand you degrading yourself over this _accident._"

"But…" I hiccuped, the tears making my vision blurry. "I killed my baby, Sue. My beautiful baby boy, and I never even got to see him, hold him. I never should have been in the operation in the first place, I knew I was pregnant! I should've…What kind of person…"

"Oh shut up, Evie! It was a simple mission wasn't it? You were only there as a last resort! It was a no brainer!" I looked up at Leah as she stood in the doorway, her hair wet from her shower. She crossed the room in milliseconds and knelt in front of us. Oh how I felt like a child now.

"You weren't near the action, and there wasn't supposed to _be_ any action. What did you say it was? An information drop between two countries? Two civilised, peaceful countries, that don't have a bone to pick with each other, wasn't it?" She looked cross with me, though it faded as she took in my face.

"It didn't work like that though, did it?" I said, sniffing. I placed a hand over the shrapnel scars on my abdomen, the shrapnel that took the life of my unborn son.

Leah shook her head sadly and sat next to me, putting me in between her and Sue. "No, it didn't. _But that was not your fault_. Who left his post, who blew that warehouse to kingdom come? Whose fault was it that you lost your baby, whose fault was it that you were infirmary-ridden for five weeks?"

"His." I whispered. Why did it have to be so damn hard?

Leah grabbed my chin and made me look her in the eye. "Whose fault was it, Eva?"

"Adam's," I bit my lip and shut my eyes tightly as more tears came. It had been seven months since I'd even spoken his name.

"Who?" Sue asked, not aware.

Leah gave me a little shake, urging me to speak, to tell the truth, to _say it. _"Adam. Adam Taylor. He works for MI6; he was my co-partner for the drop. He betrayed us, and blew up the warehouse where we were. Metal from the explosion imbedded in my abdomen and killed my baby. I don't know why he did it." My voice was hoarse, thick with tears and pain and guilt.

Leah nudged my side and looked at me pointedly, so I said the last part though clenched teeth, barely above a whisper. "Adam was…my son's father, and my fiancé." More tears slipped down my cheeks. The truth was hard, and unbelievably painful. No wonder I didn't speak it often.

"He killed his own son, and nearly killed his fiancée." Leah finalised. "It's time you stop blaming yourself, and if you're insistent on blaming someone, blame the barsted responsible. You're destroying yourself, Evie, and I won't watch it anymore."

I leant into Sue and she wrapped her arm around me, Leah sighed and rested her head on my shoulder. "Oh my babies," Sue sighed and kissed the top of my head. She reached across and held Leah's hand, drawing us both into a hug that I'd desperately needed. "What were you going to name him?" She asked after a few comfortable minutes while I tried to regained control of my emotions.

"Oliver Robert Taylor." I said, smiling as the name rolled off my tongue, even though it would never be used now. "After my father and Adam's, and if he were to be a girl it would have been Rosa Susan Taylor, after Adam's mother and you. I found out he was a boy four days before…"

"They are beautiful names, sweetie." She said. "I'm honoured."

"Personally, if I ever see that arsehole, I'll kill him." Leah muttered. "That was my godson."

I hummed and sighed, utterly defeated, I had no more fight left in me for this. Which was _very _strange for me. "It's over, there was too much damage. They told me it was very unlikely I'd ever have children now." That news, especially at the time, was like rubbing salt into the wound. I loved kids, I was looking forward to my own so badly...but it was never to happen now.

My comment threw us into more silence and I'm not sure how long we sat there, but my tears had ceased and my cheeks had dried. All too soon Leah started shifting and broke me out of my peace. "Its five to ten, don't you have to be shown around at ten?"

I groaned. "Did you _have_ to remind me? I just stopped crying…can't we just skip?"

"You know how Sam is." Leah said with a sigh and sat up.

I rolled my head on Sue's shoulder and looked up into her loving weathered face pleadingly. "Can you call and tell him I'm sick? And it's serious? And really contagious?"

She chuckled and brushed my hair out of my face. "You're a tough girl, Evie. I'm sure you'll survive Jake. He is a good kid, Billy raised him well."

"If you like mentals," Leah muttered, Sue shot her a look. "Fine, fine, yes Jacob's good kid…happy?"

"Thrilled," I mumbled dryly. "Alright then, might as well get this over and done with. I'm due for morphine anyways. Thank you, Aunty Sue, for everything."

She smiled and kissed my forehead. "You know you are welcome here always, my girl. I'd like to see you more often."

I smiled to, and stood though bent down to kiss her cheek. "Now that you know, about me, I'll make it a more often thing. You and Leah and Seth are welcome to come to my place in New York anytime you like. I'll pay your way. I want you to meet my godson to."

"I'm sure we can manage that." Sue laughed. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Leah mouth 'thank you' to the ceiling and grin. "Now off you go, you're already late as it is."

I saluted her and let Leah lead me out the door and back towards Sam's. I couldn't deny that talking about Oliver and Adam was hard, very hard. But I felt better after it, almost. For those few blissful moments I was a little girl again, able to cry and be hugged and made feel better, to be a daughter and a little sister again.

To be the one who depended on someone else.

The walk back to Sam's was drawn out as much as possible, I'm not sure if Leah knew this or if she was to busy planning her New York trip to really notice. I was half wrapped in her planning and half in my own world. It was a comfortable mix, kind of. I wasn't crying, I could feel some still there to be shed but I'd more then exceeded my crying quota for the month. The nightmares about Oliver and Adam…that day…

"What's with the face?" Leah asked amusedly, poking my cheek.

I battered her hand away and mock glared at her. "Nothing, just thinking,"

"Are you okay?"

I thought about it. No, not really, but I might've been getting there. "I will be, I hope, in time. I need a drink though." Preferably on the rocks and something with a bit of kick about it.

She smiled and tucked her arm through mine with a chuckle. "You need a drink…good luck. I know you will be though, you're strong…and stubborn, you will get though this." She sounded so serious, I almost believed her. "So when can I come to your place?"

I giggled at her enthusiasm. I'd invited her before but then I'd undoubtedly be called away and she would've been there by herself. But now, with Sue knowing, they could use my flat whenever and no suspicions would be raised or secrets uncovered that hadn't already been uncovered. I'm sure we could think of something to tell Seth. "Whenever you'd like," I replied with a smile. "There'll always be something we can do, if I'm there."

She grinned. "I know,"

"You should come live with me." I said suddenly just as Sam's came into view.

She gave me a sideways glance. "Live with you? Why, Evie, I had no idea you felt that way!"

I elbowed her sharply. "I'm serious! What are you going to do here? Don't you want to go to college? What better way, there's free board at my place and there's an endless supply of schools…you could do anything, Leah."

"I don't know…."

"Think about it. Know that the offer will always be open." I smiled as she squeezed my hand in thanks and led the way up the veranda and into the house. My Ferrari was still sitting out the front, waiting patiently to be washed. I'd have to see the manservant about that later.

I honestly don't know if I'll be alright. I smile, I laugh, I seem fine to others who don't know me. But I'm trained to lie, trained to make different from what it really is, trained to hide the truth. Sometimes I wonder if I'll loose the knowledge of what is fact and what is fiction.

I blame Adam, I blame myself, and I blame our organisations. I tell myself that I hate him, and at least eighty percent of me does. With a burning passion so hot I've considered hunting him down and killing him. Then, a little part of me remembers the Adam I loved. The man that made me smile and laugh and feel safe and loved, and it was all real and true. Sometimes, I wonder if I still loved him, even just a little.

Only time would tell, though. Time was cruel, it waited for no one. And if you tried to move against it, it killed you. Time may heal wounds but my time kept opening new ones, attention between the wounds was divided and healing was slowed. And every time I heard a baby cry, or a child laugh. Or saw the smile on a mothers face as she held her child. Or when I saw happy couples, that wound in my soul pulled.

And unable to rest...I don't know if it will ever heal.

**A/N: And there you have it. '**_**That day'**_** explained, so that half accounts for her attitude and what not. I think I've been a bit cruel to her, to be honest, lol. So this chapter was more sappy and for information purposes then anything else, next, Jake's tour :P. **

**Now, I was up at 4:30 am yesterday morning, 6am this morning, it'll be 5:00am tomorrow morning, and 5:30 the morning after that. And today and yesterday I've been doing cattle work, tomorrow will be a full day in town (which always seems to drain me) then I'll have another day of cattle work after that! Zombie land, here I come, haha. What I'm getting at is I may be a little longer in replying to reviews and such, since I'll be pretty stuffed lol. **

**Thank you very much for reading, I hope you liked it! I'm getting lots of hits so, fingers crossed I'll get lots of reviews to!**

**Please review! **

**~Meg xx**


	6. The Tour Part I

**A/N: Special thanks to **_**TempusSimia**_**, **_**Mythical Words**_**, **_**brightglo**_** and **_**3DWishes**_** for their wonderful reviews ^.^ Hope you all enjoy this chapter!**

**Chapter 6: The Tour-Part I**

I skipped through the door in what I was hoping was an upbeat mood, just in case there were any signs I'd been crying still evident. Skipping up to Seth and slinging my arms around him from behind, I stretched up and kissed his cheek. "Hiya, muscles,"

He laughed and pulled me around in front of him so he could hug me properly. "Hello, shortie."

"I am not short, you lot dwarf everyone." I closed my eyes and hugged him tighter, he was so hot. Just like Sam, and Jacob, and Leah...and everyone else around here. I sighed contentedly. _'Don't let go, Seth. Please don't let me go.' _Okay, so maybe I'm not as 'fine' as I thought I was.

Someone cleared their throat nosily.

"I'm eleven minutes and twenty-four seconds late, yes, I _know_." Reluctantly I pulled back from my comfort and released Seth. The poor boy looked pretty confused and a little concerned.

"Are you alright, Evie?" He asked, searching my face.

I dropped my eyes as another voice piped up, and in a frantic half panicked, half demanding tone, asked. "Why isn't she alright? What's wrong? Evie, are you okay? Leah, what happened to her?"

Stepping away from Seth I rolled my eyes at Jacob, pulling up every wall I had ever built and locked them all firmly in place. "I _fine_, can't I hug him without there being something wrong? Once again, get a grip. Are you _sure_ he's sane?" I asked Sam. "I mean, _really _sure?"

My cousin raised his eyebrows. "Yes, I'm sure."

"That means a lot." I muttered under my breath, before spinning on my heel and going up the stairs.

"Where are you going?" Tasha called after me. "You agreed to this, missy! Eva…"

"Oh for god's sake, I'll be back, damnit." I was quick to administer another shot of morphine; I could do it in my sleep now. There was no worry about addiction. It was all part of Tyler's super morphine mix. Non-addict-able accelerated healing…and all the rest of the technical side of it.

I pulled out my phone and found it had gone flat. I groaned before plugging it into its charger and dropping it on the bedside table. I rolled up the leg of my cargo pants and proceeded to clean and change the dressing on that wound before I ventured back down stairs, that pant leg still rolled up to my knee displaying the bandage. It was healing well, having already shortened by an inch or so. A little more time and I would be able to get rid of the stitches.

The sight that I was met with down stairs, made me wonder all over again _why_ I was putting up with this madness. Jacob was pacing back and forth anxiously, muttering in a low voice to Sam, who looked to be trying to pacifying him again. The rest were sprawled out leisurely, eating, talking or wrestling, in Collin and Seth's case.

The two rolled past the base of the stairs with the other boys whooping and egging them on, betting which one would triumph. Not to be biased or anything, but Seth had better form, though Collin was that little bit faster.

'_Note to self: Give Seth some kick arse tips on winning fights.' _

"Come on boys, take it outside yeah?" I said as I stepped past them. "Oh and, Seth, his weakness is in his left returns. Aim for the middle, left." I picked up an apple off the bench and took a bite.

"How can you tell?" Brady asked, eyeing his friends with scrutinising eyes.

"I know everything, don't you know that? Are you two quite done with your little pow wow? I'd like to have this torture over with by early this afternoon."

Jacob swooped over to me and started looking me over for god-only-knew-what while Sam eyed me wearily. "Maybe this isn't such a good idea." My cousin stated.

"_What_?" Jacob all but shrieked, yeah, _shrieked_, like a girl. "Sam!"

Sam looked between us as I glared at Jacob and put a little more distance between us. He sighed and fixed his eyes on me. "Do you promise not to kill him? You seem a little moody today..."

Someone scoffed, probably Paul, the idiot. "Your powers of observation astound me, Sammy." I was being sarcastic, like his previous question wasn't serious. I answered it seriously anyway. "I cannot be held accountable for my actions when I have already warned you of the consequences that this hair brained idea may yield. Your choice."

He nodded towards the door and I heard Jacob sigh in relief while I internally groaned. "Be home before dark." He said to Black, who nodded eagerly, grabbed my hand and pulled me outside.

"Wait! Evie!"

Black groaned loudly in annoyance and I took the opportunity to get my hand back and answer. "Yea, Seth?"

"Can I take out the Enzo again? Please?" He begged from the veranda, giving me puppy eyes.

I pulled the keys from my pocket and dangled them on my finger. "On the conditions that not one scratch, dint or blemish appears on it and its spick and span and good as new when I come back." I smiled.

He nodded quickly and with a chuckle I threw him the keys, which he caught easily then waved us off. I followed Black reluctantly as he led the way towards the forest. The forest was pretty and all, but seriously, I didn't need to know every inch of its layout. If it were building plans for a place I had to infiltrate than I'd be way excited.

We walked in silence for while, with him in front and me a pace or so behind. This was just brilliant, following some idiot around that I'd punched and didn't really like in complete silence. Could be worse I suppose, I could be subjected to the torture of him and his confusing monolog.

"I'm going about this wrong, aren't I?" He said finally, halting to allow me to catch up to him.

I raised my eyebrow at him. "I'm not sure what 'this' your talking about, but yeah, your probably doing it wrong."

He heaved a sigh. "You really don't like me, do you?"

"Nope," I popped the 'p', and then felt a little bad about it as he slumped.

"Oh, you don't want to see the res either, do you?" Man, he sounded sad, like someone had _died_ sad.

"I do remember where everything is, it's highly unlikely I'll get lost." We continued on, side by side, back in silence. Black looked like he was in deep thought. This could be interesting…

"How can I make it up to you?" He asked, putting a hand on my arm to stop me again then removed it quickly when he thought better of it. Perhaps he _was_ learning. "Anything you want, I'll do it." He paused and looked down sadly. "Even if you want me to stay away, I'll do anything if it makes you happy."

'_Oh god, why does he have to look like a kicked puppy?' 'He _is_ rather good looking…' _My inner voice piped up, I swiftly squashed it and sighed. "Would you stop looking like that? Even my three year old godson doesn't look that sad after you've taken his favourite toys."

"_I find it makes me feel rather guilty, so cut it out so I can leave and not have a guilty conscious. I hate having a guilty conscious, its bad enough without you adding to it.' _I shook the thoughts from my mind.

Jacob looked at me again, we weren't close together but I still had to tilt my head back to look at his face. He was smiling hopefully. "So that's what you want me to do?"

I rolled my eyes. "Among other things, if I agree not to banish you from ever coming within a two hundred metre radius of me, then you have to agree to the conditions."

He nodded quickly. "Anything, just name it."

"Well, firstly you have to tune down your weirdness. I don't understand it and you're freaking me out," It's blindingly annoying and I can't figure you out, which makes it even _more_ annoying. "Secondly, you excuse me from this tour that I don't need, and if I think of anything else, I'll be sure to let you know."

He nodded vigorously, so much so I thought his head would fall off. "Deal, what would you rather do? Can I stay with you, just the two of us?"

"Weirdness,"

"Right, sorry, I'm new to this, sorry." He was grinning like he'd just laid eyes on the sun for the first time. "…So, what do you want to do?"

"What is there to do in this place?"

"Well, we could go to the beach…." He seemed stuck after that.

Looking up through the tree tops to yet another overcast sky, I decided to try another tactic. "What do you _usually_ do?"

"Hang out with the guys, play video games, cliff dive, work on the rabbit…eat."

My mouth lifted into an involuntary smile at that, only this place could turn eating into a hobby. "Sounds interesting, what's the rabbit?"

"It's a Volkswagen Rabbit," He said proudly. "I've been doing it up."

Cars, cool, I can do cars. "Can you show me that?" The way I figured it, that should be a pretty safe, non weird outcome option. I wouldn't mind cliff diving, but that would probably spark some odd reaction, and plus it was too cold for that. It probably wouldn't get any warmer while I was here though, so at some stage I'll just have to suck it up.

"Okay, it's in the garage at home, come on." I could see he debated about taking my hand again, he started to reach for it, but I gestured with it in the direction of the Black property. "Led the way then,"

We changed our direction and took a different path through the green undergrowth. It was like a spider's web of paths here, all branching off in different directions.

"So…would it be weird if I asked you to play twenty questions?" He asked as he fell in time with me. Keeping space between us but staying by my side all the same.

Twenty questions…how much truth could I tell him? I shrugged. "I suppose I could take that, if you insist, can't guarantee I'll answer everything though."

"That's okay," He said with a happy smile, relieved I'd agreed and not shot him down. "Whatever you're comfortable with."

"Right…well, ask away then." This should be interesting…

"What's your favourite colour?" He asked immediately.

I was surprised. "That's it, my favourite colour?"

He looked at me sideways and laughed softly. "That's what I said, so there isn't anything wrong with your hearing, either."

I looked down and bit my lip as I recalled the similar words I'd spoken to him the day before. Had it really only been two days? Tonight was my third night, and originally scheduled to be my last. But I'm not sure now, with Leah and Seth and Sue….And Tasha, of course, she'd be upset if I left now, after only just making the beginnings of peace with Sam. Who may not be as bad as I thought he was. Go figure.

"So? What is it?" Jacob prompted, leaning down and trying to look me in the eye. It was a kinda funny position for someone his size.

"Um…I don't know."

"You don't know your favourite colour?" He asked, grinning and shaking his head.

I shrugged as we exited the trees that opened up to reveal the Black house. "Never really thought about it," Wondering about your favourite colour seemed like such a trivial thing to think about in my life. Oh, now it's my turn to ask him isn't it? "Um…what's _your_ favourite colour, then?"

He chuckled and instead of going to the house he headed towards the sheds that had most definitely seen happier days. "Green," Was his simple answer.

"Ah, like the forest." I smiled as he made a show of opening the tin door and gesturing me inside.

"No, like your eyes,"

"Oh," '_Oh, god.' _

"Favourite animal?"

"Uh…" Shit, um... "I like birds, eagles and phoenixes, and canines and big cats…you?"

He gave me a toothy grin. "Wolf."

Right, Quileute legends were based on wolves, something about our ancestors being decedents of them. Stories used to keep the kids quiet for a while, like Santa Claus. "Cool." The red rabbit at the back of the shed was surrounded by tools, all neatly organised, with the bonnet up and ready to have its work continued. "How much does it need doing?"

"It's nearly done, actually. I've been working on it for a while." He answered, picking up a spanner and twirling it around his hand once before setting it on a bench.

Two bikes leaning against the wall caught my attention. They weren't new styled, but looked in good condition. "Are they yours to?"

He nodded. "Bella Swan…got them, and I helped her do them up, she gave them to me not that long ago." He seemed hesitant to talk about Bella…was I missing something here? "Do you like cars and bikes, then?"

"Yeah, I'm really into that kinda stuff. I've got my baby, of course, that Seth and the rest of those fools had better be taking _damn_ good care of. Then I've got a Kawasaki Ninja ZX 14 and a BMW R1200GS sitting at home in the garage. I love the race tracks, there's one not far from where I live so I spend a bit of time there when I'm home."

Jacob gaped at me. "How do you afford all this stuff?"

I shrugged. "Mum's a high paid lawyer firm partner, so she helped me in early years. I've worked for the rest of it. But I don't do what I do for the money, though. It's just a perk."

"You've got a good relationship with your Mum, then?"

I looked away from the bikes and gazed at him calmly for a moment before shaking my head. "No, not really. She hardly talks to me and I hardly talk to her. I haven't seen her for months. Tasha and I got pretty much everything we wanted growing up, but I think it was a ploy to keep us occupied and away from her."

"I'm sorry…"

"Don't be, I don't really mind all that much. I've got enough female figures to survive without my blood mother." Jacob's mother, Sarah, had died in a crash when we were young, so his questioning my relationship with mine was understandable. People tend to ask about what they don't have. In my case though, he isn't missing out.

I concentrated on the rabbit, wandering over to the front and leaning in to get a better look under the bonnet. The engine was new, or _newer_, then the car body. It looked like he was in the process of fitting it. The air cleaner was missing from its housing but a quick look around revealed a new one still in its plastic sitting on the side bench.

"Do you mind if I…?" I pointed at the air cleaner.

Jacob looked surprised but nodded, grabbing it and bringing it to me. "So you're a mechanic to? Is there anything you don't do?" His comment wasn't teasing…more, admiring.

I shrugged, taking the air cleaner from his hands and biting the inside of my cheek as our fingers brushed, sending warm tingles through my hands. I cleared my throat and took the plastic off. "I know a bit, I usually just do the driving but my friend thought I should know this stuff. Knowing how to fix and put together the bits and pieces helped me know how everything worked, and I got to be a better driver."

He leaned down to watch me fit the air cleaner. "I think it's great. If you've got such a passion for driving, why aren't you a race car driver or something?"

"Never really occurred to me to do it professionally, I've had my heart set on what I do now for a long time. Everything else just appears as a hobby after it." Why was I telling him this? I should be keeping track of how many questions he had left.

"Do you have pets?"

"Yea, I've got a little white fluffy mutt, named Mutt." I tightened the wing nut on top of the housing and brushed my hands together, satisfied.

Jacob laughed. "You named your dog Mutt?"

"Yep," He was still laughing so I continued in defence. "It could have been worse; I could've named him Fluffy."

He cringed. "Yeah, it could have been worse."

I found myself smiling and giggling at the expression on his face. Not that I could really blame him, it was a terrible name. He looked at me and smiled stupidly. "What?" I asked suspiciously.

He just kept smiling and shook his head. "Nothing,"

Raising an eyebrow I gave him a disbelieving look but turned back to the car anyway. I don't think I'd like what he was thinking, and I can imagine that Sam would be rather upset if I impaled his friend on a large screw driver. And it would make Tasha upset that I'd upset Sam, and she'd make my life a living hell no matter where I ran to.

Saying it like that really did make us all sound like a bunch of five year olds.

I chewed on my bottom lip thoughtfully as I surveyed the car and its bits and pieces. "Hand me a fifteen mil spanner," I said finally, leaning further over the motor.

"Why?" His voice startled me a bit as he was closer to me then expected, soon I could feel the heat radiating off him.

"Your oil filter housing is loose." I managed not to look at him and keep my voice normal, though his proximity was affecting me more then I thought acceptable.

Within seconds the silver tool appeared in my line of vision attached to a large tan hand and we both set to work doing different things to the Rabbit.

"Hey," Jacob said a while later. We'd continued to work on the Rabbit in peaceful silence, only really speaking when I couldn't find something I needed.

I rolled out from under the back where I'd been checking the back axel and looked up at him. He had black on his hands and spots on his face and shirt and his hair was messy. I don't know what he'd been doing, but Rachel would hang him out to dry when she saw him. "Mmhm?"

"Do you want to go up to the house? My dad will love to see you, and I can smell something sweet."

I chuckled a little and rolled my eyes. "What is it with you people and food? You seem to have an extra sense to detect it."

He grinned. "Something like that," Extending a hand down to help me up, his face softened into a smile.

After a second of hesitation I took his hand and let him pull me up. He let go of my hand, thankfully, but he did it in a way that drew out the time we were actually touching for as long as possible.

"You've got…" He pointed to my cheek with a giant grin.

My hand flew to the spot he was talking about instantly and I leaned down to look in the mirror. Sure enough there was a smudged spot of oil on my cheek. "Damn."

He laughed. "Makes you look cute, come on, there's plenty of water and soap in the house."

I scoffed. "How can being covered in black as black oil be described as _cute_?" We wiped our hands on a rag before leaving the shed.

"You can make anything look cute."

Rolling my eyes and giving him a pointed look I sighed. "And you were doing so well…"

"It's a compliment, don't you like compliments?"

"Depending on what type of compliment it is."

"You're a strange girl, do you know that?" He asked, completely amused.

"I take offence to that."

"What?" He yelped, looking panicked at that. "_No_, no that's not what I meant, I'm sorry, I didn't…"

If he talked any faster I'd get a headache for sure. "Woah, I was kidding! Kind of, but I get it, your sorry. What'd I say about weirdness?"

"Right, I'm sorry." He held open the door for me gallantly, bowing and smiling.

I sighed but walked inside none the less. There, sprawled out on the lounge like he owned the place, was Paul, Paul with a fluffy milkshake moustache. I burst out laughing immediately; such an opportunity was not to be missed.

"I didn't know you were a moustache man, Paulie, and a white one. Are you getting old?" I teased.

To my immense delight he scowled at me and was at a blank for come backs.

Still grinning triumphantly, I looked around the room and spotted Billy as he wheeled through the doorway which I knew led to the kitchen. "Hello, young man," I smiled at him, swooping over and dropping a kiss on his old cheek and hugging him.

He laughed and hugged me back. "Hi, Evie, honey, I think your eyesight is failing you."

"Nonsense, Billy. How are you? I'm sorry last I saw I wasn't in the best of moods." I said sheepishly.

Paul snorted. "There's the understatement of the year, you were a down right bitch."

There was a slap and growl as Jacob hit him around the head. "Shut up, Paul."

I rolled my eyes and sighed. Billy chuckled at me. "It's alright, honey. How's your time been? Enjoy your day keeping my boy in line? He's been behaving himself I hope?"

I shrugged. "He's done alright, so far. When exactly did he become so weird? I don't remember him like this, maybe all those worms finally got to him." I tossed Jake a smug smirk and chuckled as he turned red. And for someone with his complexion, I wouldn't have thought that was possible.

"I was only young," He muttered quietly in defence.

Paul snorted again, this time into his milkshake and it must've gone up his nose by the way he spluttered and carried on after. I looked back to Billy questioningly. "How do you allow your daughter to have anything to do with this idiot?"

My Dad's old friend shook his head unknowingly. "Dunno, you hungry, honey?" He always called me that, Harry was the same, he addressed me the same as he addressed Leah.

"Are you sure you've got enough food with these two?"

He smiled. "Course, Rach has gone out to get more, she'll be back soon. That's why he's here." He pointed towards Paul, who looked up and smiled innocently. Pah, now _that _was the joke of the year. "There's enough to rustle something up."

"Alright then," I stepped around him into the kitchen and looked around, it hadn't changed from the last time I was in here. The sweet smell that Jacob had somehow picked up was coming from the oven, where a cake was baking happily. "Just tell me where it is and I'll make it, to make up for me eating your food as well."

"Ah, that's alright, honey. I doubt you'll make much difference." He laughed.

"I insist. Jacob, what do you want?" I called then not waiting for an answer added. "What you're given, brilliant."

Paul's and Billy's laughter riveted though the little house. "Just make about three times more of everything." Billy said, wheeling himself in next to me as I started rummaging around. "That should keep them happy."

"I honestly don't know how Emily feeds them all." I muttered as I located eggs, tomatoes, bacon, cheese and milk. Quiche looked like an easy bet, that and…urgh, something else. "I'd go insane making this much by twenty or however many there is. Then make desert to!"

"She's an excellent cook, it's no wonder their always over there." Billy chuckled. "You should see the amount that comes out on bonfire nights, it's probably tripled."

"La ayuda del cielo nosotros." I muttered, looking to the ceiling pleadingly. I remembered the bonfires, they were held up on the cliffs over first beach. On the traditional nights only the tribe members were allowed, the elders would tell the legends at the end of a night of eating and laughing.

"What's that?"

I looked at Billy as he regarded me in confusion. "What's what?"

"What you said, I didn't know you spoke another language."

I made and 'o' shape with my mouth as I understood. I knew ten languages at the moment, and was always adding to my fluent list. Work demanded that I learn as many as possible. I was that used to speaking them all at home and work to keep my memory fit that I sometimes slipped into one without realising.

"I'm sorry," I said, cutting up the tomatoes and bacon into small squares. "I didn't realise I'd done it. I said 'heaven help us'."

He nodded. "We always knew you'd be a bright girl, honey. You were always smart. What language was it?"

"Spanish." I winced at the memory of learning the ones that were part of our curriculum, and my teacher's face when I got it wrong. Military school had nothing on spy training, but to be tough you had to be trained tough.

Jacob poked his head around the corner. "You know other languages?" As I nodded he puffed up proudly like my boss did when his agents got praise from important figures. "What ones? Can you show me?"

"Weirdness,"

"Sorry," It was his automatic response, yet still remained sincere. "So are you going to tell me? You still owe me questions, you know."

It would be odd if I told them _all_ the ones I knew, though with my job excuse it could be passable. Still, why risk it? "Spanish, Italian, French, and…Chinese." Four, and they were big figures in the world, so that was believable.

He looked ready to burst. "She speaks other languages…can she get _any_more amazing?"

Billy laughed. "Son, weirdness,"

I grinned at him. "Couldn't have said it better myself. Go away, I'm making food. Harass Paul, or something useful."

Jacob pouted and Billy chuckled again. "Off you go, you heard the lady."

"That ain't a lady," Paul yelled to us. "That's a demon!"

Jacob growled and thumped back into the living room. "Paul! Don't you dare speak about her like that!" There was a smack and several thumps.

"Take it outside." Billy said automatically. "Sorry about them, honey. Don't listen to Paul."

I smiled and shook my head uncaringly. "I really don't care what Paul comes up with, I remember what he's like. I also know that most of the time he just says the things he says to get a rise out of the others. Boys will be boys, Billy. You can take the man out of the cave but you can't take the cave out of the man."

"That's very good. I'll have to remember that." He chortled amusedly.

**A/N: They might be getting somewhere! Let's see how long it lasts :P. I hope you had as much fun reading this as I did writing it. This one is a bit longer then I expected, but anyways.**

**I got over 600 hits last time O.o! Thank you so much! Let's see if we can get lots of reviews! :D They make my day. Next chapter will be up in a few days, my Dad is coming home tonight after a few weeks away, so I'll be spending the 3 days he gets off with him, so yeah :). **

**PRETTY PLEASE REVIEW!**

**~Meg xxx**


	7. The Tour  Part II

**A/N: SUPER thank you's to **_**brightglo**_**, **_**TempusSimia, scbear7 **_**and **_**Maximus05**_** for their wonderful, and much loved, reviews (: **

**Don't own Twilight, yada yada….Enjoy!**

**Chapter 7: The Tour - Part II **

Lunch went off without a hitch. Rachel came home just as I was almost done and Paul had rushed to take the bags of food she was carrying. I'd gotten away with the biggest quiche I'd ever seen and a small mountain of chips. Rachel, Billy and I took ours first then watched as the rest of it disappeared rapidly.

"Wasn't that enough?" I asked disbelievingly as Jacob hunted through the bags of groceries and Paul was hanging half in and half out of the fridge.

"We're growing boys," Jacob defended, pulling out a tub of ice cream. "Not that it wasn't delicious, of course! I've never eaten a quiche so good before, you're a wonderful cook."

"Suck up," Paul snickered.

"Paul." Rachel warned, and he shot her an apologetic look.

I scoffed. "If you grow anymore they'll have to make all the doorways bigger." The sky was building again, the wind picking up and rippling through the trees. I sighed.

"What's wrong?" Jacob asked as he flopped down onto the lounge beside me, ice cream and two spoons in hand. Billy was between the two lounges and Rachel sat on the other, which Paul was quick to join her on. His own snack, half -no, seriously, _half_- the new cake, clutched in hand.

I took the spoon I was being offered and took a scoop of the yummy white stuff and sucked it off it. Well aware that Jacob's eyes never left my face. "It's gonna rain again, I can feel it."

Rachel chuckled. "It always rains here."

"I know," I took another scoop of ice cream. "But I do want to get out of here sometime in the next week. I have to be back at work and I've got a party to go to on the weekend."

"Are you sure you have to go?" Rachel asked, before any of the boys could open their mouths.

"Yea, I'm positive. The party is for my boss's sixtieth and we've all gotta be there. Plus I'm taking more time off then I asked for, so I'll have to do more to make up for it." Tamara, she was kind of like the sectary of our unit, would hang me if I wasn't there for a party she'd been organising for weeks. We were all pretty close in our division, we were like the spy version of everyone here. A family, a true family.

I turned back to the ice cream and found Jacob staring at me painfully, spoon frozen half way between his mouth and the tub and the ice cream on it was melting. I sighed again. "_What_? You know your gonna wear that if you don't eat it, right?"

"I don't want you to leave." He said bluntly.

"Neither does anyone else, it seems. But none of you seem to comprehend that I have a life and responsibilities that I _have_ to attend to. You never know your luck; I might come back next holidays I get."

"When will that be?" He half asked, half demanded.

I shrugged. "Wouldn't have a clue, when I'm told I've got time off usually."

"Oh….Well can I come see you?"

"No."

"Why not?" He demanded unhappily.

"Because half the time I'm not even in the country, let alone at home."

"Oh…"

"Would you please stop looking like that?" I cried. "I've told you about that haven't I? He's looks like a kicked puppy, doesn't he, Billy?"

The old man nodded in agreement, his eyes falling pityingly on his son. Gah, I hated getting pity. I did not need pity, or concern, or worry, or ties to other people. It was dangerous and unwelcome.

"Sucks for you, man." Paul said, sincerely for once.

I frowned. "I'm not even going to ask, 'cause I don't want to know. Do I have to make a weirdness rule for you to, Paul?"

He grinned at me. "You'll find out, I don't envy Jake one bit though. Although you _are _rather nice on the eyes…"

"PAUL!" I don't know which of us were loudest. Either way the cocky git just grinned and kissed Rachel.

Jacob was quick to protest that to. "Dude! Not in my house! That's my lounge! And just, stop making out with my sister full stop."

"Never," Was his reply, mumbled against Rachel's smiling lips.

I made gagging noises and stood up. "Well, this is gross. Can we go? Assuming that I can't ditch you yet?" He stood up immediately, handing his father the ice cream and dropping the spoons on the coffee table. "Yeah, didn't think so. Bye, Billy." I kissed his cheek again and hugged him.

"See you later, honey. You comin' to the bonfire tomorrow night?"

There was a bonfire tomorrow night? "Uh, sure, if I'm still here I don't see why not. Bye, freak. Have fun with the cooties and what not, Rachel." I grabbed Jacob's hand and pulled him out of the house before either of them could come after me.

I don't know how far we ran, but it was all the way to the beach when I finally collapsed in the sand, laughing and panting slightly. It was a reasonable distance but I was fit. Jacob seemed even less puffed then I was as he stood over me.

"That was fun," I breathed, looking up at the sky. "I needed that."

"You're pretty fast…"

"If you say _for a girl_, I will push you off the cliffs."

"Good thing I wasn't going to say that then." He chuckled, sitting down beside me in a more graceful manner then I had. I had to snicker at the irony of it. "I like it here." He said after a moment of silence.

I rolled onto my side to face him and propped myself up on my elbow. "That's good, ya know, since you live here and all."

"So, the bonfire tomorrow night, you're going right?"

"Didn't I tell your Dad yes?"

"Well yeah, but…I was wondering, if…you'd like to, maybe go with me?"

I groaned. "I'll be going anyway, I came here to see people, not go on dates."

"It could be a two in one kinda thing, couldn't it?"

"No."

He sighed, defeated, his face filled with sadness and some unnamed, incomprehensible pain. My heart thumped painfully against my ribs. "Alright, I'm sorry. Can we continue our game?"

I rubbed my chest and took slow even breaths, and the pain faded. That was odd. "Yea sure, whatever," He was certainly persistent, but he's far to interested for anyone's good.

"Alright, what's your favourite flower?"

I arched an eyebrow. "Favourite flower…I don't know that either. Roses and orchids are pretty, but so are most flowers. What's yours?"

He grinned at me. "Are you just going to use all my questions or do you really want to know my favourite flower?"

I shrugged. "Hey it's your game. Why not use your questions?"

"Then I have to say I don't know." He laughed. "Never had to think about that before. When's your birthday?"

"The sixth of July. And yours?"

"Fourteenth of January, do you have a boyfriend?"

Oh dear, not liking that question. "No, favourite…um, place?"

He turned his intense gaze to me and our eyes locked. My heart sped up. "…Honestly?"

I shrugged again, quarrelling internally with my heart, why not honestly?

"My favourite place is anywhere where yo…"

'_Bad! Very bad! Not liking where this is going at all!' _"_Don't _say where I am, just _don't_." I cut him off sharply. A small gasp escaped my throat as I felt the pain again. I was too young for heart attacks, wasn't I? "That would be crossing the weirdness boundary…again, and going _way_ too far."

"I wasn't…"

"Weren't you?" I scoffed a little. I swallowed the pain and didn't let it show. I was good at hiding pain. "You're a terrible liar." I couldn't allow those words to ever leave his mouth, he'd asked me out and that was too far. I should've been more switched on and stopped those words to.

He sighed. "Why is it so devastating that I might like you?"

"Because this is only the second day I've been here, after an absence of eleven years! It doesn't happen this fast! I know what keen guys are like, but you're something different, and I don't like it." Don't like it at all, actually.

"Tell me why," He begged me. My chest seemed to constrict, like there was a heavy weight placed on it. "Tell me what I'm doing wrong and I'll change! I'll do _anything_ for you, Evie, _anything_!"

I closed my eyes and breathed slowly. How had it gotten so complicated so fast? What is this…thing I'm feeling? Why was I having second thoughts? "Look, Jacob, you're a nice guy. Once you get past all the weirdness and your creepy abnormal behaviour. But that doesn't change my decision, it never will. I don't date, not _anyone_, not _ever_. The best I can offer you is friendship, but if you're going to keep carrying on like this then even that's going to be hard for me."

"I want to know you, you've no idea how much I just want to be around you. You have to feel something to!"

I sat up, wrapping my arms around my legs. "It's pointless telling you your being strange again, isn't it? You can't know me, Jacob, no one knows me." I added in a low whisper.

"Not even Leah?" He challenged, he was getting worked up again, and the shaking was starting to return. It was still difficult to breath properly, but I refused to show a weakness in front of _him_.

"Not even Leah. My best friends can't even understand what goes on inside my head half the time. Cut the shaking out, before I take you to the closest hospital and demand you be put on medication! And you can stop asking me questions. I think you've asked enough."

"Give me a chance; tell me what your thinking, what you feel, let me _try_ to know you!"

"No!" I leap to my feet. "I don't _want_ anyone to know me! Just…just drop it, alright? I want to go back to Sam's. Now." '_Before I really start freaking out and run away, you…confusing idiot.'_

He nodded mutely, his painful look in place, and stood with me, leading the way through the rapidly darkening forest all the way back to my cousin's in silence. My strange chest pain weakened, but didn't disappear. It was like a dull ache, not bad enough to hinder me but not weak enough to be unnoticed.

'_This is so utterly ridicules._' I snapped mentally. _'What are you doing, letting this…this…this, urgh, THIS BOY, affect you? No one is supposed to affect you like this. No one. Don't you remember what happened the last time? Pain, lots and lots of pain with suicidal notions and more pain, that's what happened.' _

Why would I risk it again? Why am I even _thinking _like this and connecting it in anyway to Jacob Black? I decided against relationships, in case that wasn't obvious, since doomsday-Eva-style. I was never confident in the idea to begin with. I'd seen the outcome of spy's with significant others and families that they went home to every night before.

It had taken Adam months to get me to agree to a date, I met him not long after I turned sixteen. Then I was still wary, but Maddy was so successful with Daniel, her husband, and baby Ben that I'd eventually given in to what I felt. I had loved him; there was no doubt about that. I had loved him with every fibre in my being, my soul, my mind, my body. But that just made the events all the more devastating for me.

I trudged up the steps to Sam's behind Jacob, wishing only for a shower and my bed and a peaceful night, but, of course, my sister had other ideas.

She swooped on the pair of us like a hawk does on an unsuspecting mouse. "Oh, there you two are! How was your day, did you enjoy it?" She asked hopefully, pulling my tired frame into a hug and then Jacob's, like he was long lost family.

The russet boy glanced at me quickly as I kicked my shoes off and wandered into the kitchen. "Erm, it was good."

"What about you, Evie?" She turned on me. "Evie?"

"Yes, I heard you." I muttered, smiling weakly at Emily as she prepared dinner. Perhaps I could fit a meal into my evening plan… "It was alright…I guess." Until wonder boy went all psycho, _again_, and I started getting…_symptoms_.

"That's good, what did you get up to? Is La Push like you remember?" She continued.

"Yep," I looked around. "Where's Sam?"

"Oh, he'll be back soon." Emily said, smiling. "He just had to run to work to clear up a problem." Oh, I'd heard in fleeting that Sam operated some kind of handyman turn out.

"What kind of problem?" Jacob asked. I could hear the frown in his voice.

"Nothing big, Vinnie, Jared and Quil had it pretty much under control but then another one popped up." Em replied. "He'll be back for dinner."

"Do you need some help?" I asked, eyeing the food. Yes, I could most definitely fit in a meal, this smelt amazing. I felt better already.

She laughed. "Thanks, but I think I've got it under control. Take a seat, watch TV, and just relax, Evie. You look tense."

I sighed, tense was a complete understatement. "I'm gonna go find my phone, if I don't return you know I've fallen asleep."

Jacob shuffled his feet as Emily smiled at me. "Go on, sweetie. I'll call you when it's ready."

I nodded and made my way back to my room, but of course, wasn't fast enough to avoid my sister. As she grabbed my forearm I prepared myself for another fight, but as I looked at her, I knew a fight was not what she was after. "Evie, are you alright?" She asked tentatively, reaching up and laying her hand on my forehead, her brown eyes concerned. "You look almost ill."

"Ill?" Jacob echoed, rushing over and pressing his scorching hand against my forehead and running it down over my cheek. Where ever he touch practically burned after his removed his hand, and not necessarily in a bad way.

I felt my eyes slipping closed as he cupped my cheek, but I quickly woke up to myself and swatted his hand away and ignored him. I tried to give Tash a real smile, but I think it came out tighter then what I was intending. "I'm fine, just…just buggered all of a sudden."

"Hey, not sleeping for three days I'm not surprised. You should take better care of yourself, Evie." She chastised gently.

"I made up for that. I survive, so therefore, I'm fine, Tashie." I lent and kissed her cheek and even went as far as hugging her. I rarely started these things. The look on her face when I pulled back said it all.

"Go on, then. If you fall asleep I'll wake you, you need to eat more, so don't attack me or anything." She teased, still grinning like an idiot and pushed me gently towards the stairs.

I rolled my eyes but obeyed. "I'm not as dangerous to wake as you."

My room was pleasantly quiet and cool. The window was partly open and filled it with the relaxing La Push air, and I was quick to collapse on the bed with a sigh. Lazily, I reached over and grabbed my phone, detaching it from the charger and checking my messages. Maddy had called me, and Jay and Tamara, and texts from Claudia, Tess and Yas, the only three of my school sisters that had joined my unit after they'd graduated.

"_Hi hun, it's me." _I listened to my best friend's voice flow over her message. "_Hope your surviving and having a good time, but I won't hold my breath. Don't worry, everything's fine. Just give me a call when you get this, okay? Bye." _

Jay's was similar. "_Hey baby girl, I missed your voice so I thought I'd call. You must have let your damn phone go flat again. Find the charger! Call me soon, love you." _Jay and I were like that, we flirted and loved each other but not really in the way of brother/sister or romantically. It never went anywhere and we were just happy to have each other.

Tammy's was amusing and pretty much as I expected. "_Evie, hi, its Tammy. Hope your liking your time with the fam, just reminding you that the party is Saturday at six and you have to turn up, okay? Love you, sweetie, we all say hello and see you soon." _

The texts held similar messages and I quickly replied to set the minds at ease then tried Maddy but got her answering machine. Jay's also went to his answering machine but that wasn't unusual. Whenever he had spare time he was out doing things that meant he left his phone at home. Like sky diving and racing and jet skiing and…gah, I hate him, I'm jealous now.

Tams picked up after the second ring, however. "_Hello?" _Her perky thirty year old voice sang through the device and instantly brought a smile to my face.

"Hi, Tams, its Evie, how's things?"

"_Oh, Evie, it's so good to hear your voice. I thought you must have lost that phone! Everything's fine, sweetie, I was just checking up on you_." I could hear her tapping away at her computer. "_How are you? You sound a little beat, have you been sleeping right_?"

Scratch my calculations from before. I have five mothers, still not including the one that gave birth to me. "I'm fine, really. I slept half of yesterday and I went to bed early last night, just been over thinking a little too much today, I think."

"_Oh, sweetie pie, rest that little head of yours hmm? Everything is fine here, if that's what you're worried about. Nothing is going to explode in your absence and I promise to call you as soon as anything comes up_."

"Okay," I smiled. "Thanks, Tams. You wouldn't happen to know where the rest of the crew are would you? I can't get hold of Maddy or Jay."

"_Their fine, Maddy and Danny have taken Ben to a monster truck rally_." I could practically hear her roll her eyes. "_And Jay is bungee jumping off the Sydney Harbour Bridge, try him again in a few, he'll answer. Now, my precious, I must go and find the rest of my precious' so I shall leave you be. Get some more rest and come home in time for the weekend. Shamus has given the all clear for you to stay there for the rest of the week_."

Shamus Moree was my boss. "Okay, thank you. Say hi to my girls and everyone for me."

"_I will, love you sweetie pie. See you on Saturday, yes_?"

"You have my word, cross my heart."

She laughed. "_Good, bye sweetie_."

"Bye, Tams." I hung up and fell back against my pillows. Tam's was the only person apart from Sue that really had the ability to make me feel like a kid, in a good way. I could _act _like a kid, but _feeling _like a kid was something else.

I must have fallen asleep because the next thing I knew there was a hot sensation spreading across my cheek. It was oddly calming and in my half conscious state I sighed, turning my head towards the heat. It came again, running from the top of my cheek to my jaw then back up slowly.

My foggy brain connected two and two and came up with the realisation that someone was stroking my cheek. My entire body tensed as all my senses awoke and went into overdrive. My eyes sprung open and I stared at the figure crouched next to my bed, their hand frozen.

I breathed a sigh of relief as I realised I was safe, and then the annoyance and defensive walls slipped in. "Do you _ever_ give up?" I asked Jacob groggily, pulling away as far as I could before allowing myself to relax. "What the_ hell_ are you doing?"

He gave me a lopsided smile and shook his head. "You're adorable when you sleep." His voice was low and familiarly husky and warmed me.

"That does not answer my question, Black." I growled, rubbing my eyes and reluctantly pulled myself up, checking that my clothes were still concealing everything that needed to be concealed. "Weirdness, I should get a restraining order against you."

"No! Don't, please, Evie." He exclaimed quickly, backing up as if his short distance would change my mind. "I'm sorry, dinners ready so Emily sent me to get you."

"Why didn't Tasha do it?" He moved back further as I swung my legs over the side of the bed.

"She's…well she's…making desert." He didn't really look like he knew if that was the right thing to describe what my sister was doing.

I groaned and stood, stabilising myself then gestured for him to follow me. "Better stop her, and in future, stay out of my room."

"So, you're not mad at me anymore?" He asked brightly as he trotted along behind me as I headed for the stairs. He was like an overeager dog trying to please.

I sighed. "Is there any point? You don't listen to me no matter what emotion I direct at you. Waste of energy, and I don't have enough currently anyway." It was true; most people avoided me like the plague after I made it clear that I didn't like them. But not Jacob, he just came back every time, no matter what I said or did to him.

His deep chuckle vibrated through my body. "You've only directed anger at me so far."

"And your still here, that either makes you really dumb, or suicidal," I muttered to myself as I jumped off the bottom step and surveyed the kitchen and dinning room for any threats. I located Tasha as she stood over a mixing bowl and an open cook book. There was flour in her hair and some of it was smeared across her cheek. Emily was pulling a roast out of the oven and Sam was setting the table. All three looked up when we came down.

"Tasha Leann Hanson." I tisked, eyeing her imploringly, she knew she was banned from kitchen work. "What are you doing in the kitchen? Are you trying to kill us all?"

She sighed and allowed me to push her out of the way. "I'm just trying to help, but it all sounds so…wrong."

I laughed and looked at the recipe, chocolate pudding, just about the easiest thing in the world to make. Shaking my head I gave her a nudge in the boy's direction. "Go domesticate them, I'll help Emily."

"But I wanted to cook!" She whined, although moving out of the way none the less.

"Honey, face it, you have never, cannot, and will never be able to cook without causing damage. The truth hurts, I know, but suck it up, woman." I grinned teasingly as she scowled and went to help Sam and hopefully put Jacob's lazy arse to work.

Finally it was ready to eat, by this time my stomach was growling and I was even more tired then before. I got moody when I was tired when I wasn't working; it was just how I was. Tasha was like it to, so it was probably genetic and inherited from our mother. I cringed at the thought of having _any _of that woman's traits as we sat down to eat, the boys politely allowing us girls to get ours first.

I doubt it was really manners though, Emily had issued the order moments before and both Sam and Jacob, who apparently was staying for dinner, were very inclined to do as she said. It was pretty amusing.

So I found myself sitting between Sam and Jacob, something I don't think was just coincidental, if the smile on Tasha's face was anything to go by. Much to her disappointment though, not only did I not exchange one word with Black but I refused to look at him to. He'd done enough damage for today, I think.

Dishing out a healthy serving of lamb roast and veggies, I jumped a little when my cousin suddenly spoke. "How did you like your day, Evie?" He asked as I handed him the plate of sliced meat.

I sighed and shrugged. What was with this question? "It was okay." Short and simple, neither bad nor good.

"You and Jake had a good time together then?" Tasha said casually, sending a smile in my direction. _'HASN'T SHE ALREADY ASKED THAT QUESTION?' _My mind screamed.

"I'm not doing it again tomorrow, if that's what you're hinting at." I replied monotonously. "I've had enough of his questions for one day, at least…probably more a year. Damn this is good, Em." Hoping to change the subject and ignore the expressions that crossed the other's faces, I grinned at the cook. "Sam better know how goddamned lucky he is, the way he eats."

She laughed and the couple exchanged at look, I thought about declaring that I was eating, but decided that would take to much effort. Besides, the focus had shifted from Black and I, and I didn't care what to.

**A/N: And there you have it. Just when they looked like they were getting somewhere, they start arguing again. It'll happen, I assure you, but it's looking to be a long process 'cause I've got a few twists planned for you yet :P. Hope you liked this one! Now, I'm going to bed, haha. **

**REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! ….Please XD**

**~Meg xx**


	8. Lov

**A/N: Thank you so very much to **_**brightglo, kiki, RANDOM COOKIE NINJA, TempusSimia **_**and **_**Twilight saga**_** for the reviews! Love you all!**

**Chapter 8: ...Lov…**

How godly awful were mornings after a blissful night's sleep? Very awful, bordering on down right _cruel_, is the appropriate answer, I think. Dinner last night had turned into something kind of awkward. Tasha kept asking 'innocent' questions about mine and Jacob's day, along with sending me strange smiles. I'd even caught Sam giving Jacob's direction a glare at one point and Emily was obviously trying to act as if everything were perfectly fine.

As I lay in bed, staring at the ceiling as sunlight flooded in through the window, I still couldn't figure it out. And I wasn't sure that I really wanted to, anyway. With a dejected sigh, I rolled over and looked at the digital clock on the bedside table. 8:16 am shone at me in taunting, red numbers. Great, at least I'd gotten a fair amount of sleep; hopefully it would be enough to banish my weariness for a while.

It had all been catching up to me, and I doubt my over thinking, caused by Black, was really helping things.

Dragging myself out of bed, not bothering to get changed out of my simple blue and purple checked boxers and grey three quarter sleeved shirt that I wore to bed, I made my way down stairs. It was noisy, and full of people. Seriously, what is this place, a club house?

My leg was un-bandaged, leaving my stitches in clear view. The wound was healing nicely, already having shrunk a couple of centimetres in length, and the red of the first day was replaced with my normal, tanned skin tone. I weaved wordlessly through all the people, ignoring anyone who greeted me, and bee lined for the coffee pot. This morning, I was in sudden and desperate need of a caffeine fix.

Georgia, whom I had learned was Vincent's girlfriend, was just filling a cup of steaming fresh coffee when I entered. She was shorter then me, by a couple of inches, and had lighter skin then me to. Her ginger hair was up in a high ponytail and she raised an eyebrow at me as I approached.

"Want some?" Her voice was normal, not soft like Kim's or hard like Leah's or overly bubbly like Tasha's. Her hazel eyes regarded me like I wasn't getting around in my pyjamas with a massive cut on my leg and probably a scowl on my face.

I nodded and tried to give her a smile. She was probably younger then me, finally there was someone, but my current mood seemed to have washed over her completely. "Yes…please."

She gave me a smile back and got another cup. "And here I was thinking you'd set yourself to mute this morning."

I grunted and accepted the simple light blue mug from her delicate hand. She really stood out against the rest of us. "I thought about it….Aren't half of you lot supposed to be at school today?"

She laughed and shook her head. "Good luck getting them there, but no, not today. Some idiot busted the pipes and flooded the whole school."

I rolled my eyes, _'some idiot' _probably meant one of these idiots. "Right, so you just all…congregate here?"

She smirked. "Emily makes the best food, and these guys are always after food. You missed breakfast, by the way. Tasha told them to leave you sleep."

Shrugging, I leaned against the bench and watched the chaos around us. "That's alright, I don't feel like it anyway." I frowned. "Where's Leah?"

"Out with Kev, I think."

Leah was _out _with Kevin O'Harn? …Out killing him maybe. "What are they doing?" I highly doubted that my Leah would be out voluntarily with any of this lot, let alone Kevin, who was almost as bad as the dynamic duo when it came to stupidity and pranks.

Georgia shrugged her small shoulders and took a sip of her black coffee. I hated black coffee. "Dunno."

Someone should tell her she's a horrible liar, and I was instantly annoyed with being lied to, but I couldn't find it in me to challenge her on it. I just took a calming breath and sipped my own white, heavily sugared, coffee.

"Morning, Evie!"

I groaned at the upbeat happy voice and dropped my head onto the bench top with a soft 'thunk'. Totally knew I should've stayed in bed. "Do you _ever _do _anything_ besides harass me?"

Jacob replied immediately, and I could hear the sadness seep into his voice. I frowned at the light pain shoot across my chest. The same as yesterday, only not so bad. "I just said good morning, no need to get snappy."

I stood up and downed my coffee, which was a stupid thing to do since it was hot and burned my throat, but I was able to hide the pain and walked out of the kitchen to the veranda. I fell into the empty lounge and pulled my phone from where I'd stashed it in my bra, an ancient trick, I know, and texted my girls who I was missing worse then before.

Several of the boys were rolling around out on the ground and for the first time I noticed my baby was parked neatly and was shinning so bright you nearly had to wear sunnies. I beamed, remembering to hug Seth later. I gazed at the red shine for a while, going over every inch of the exterior and had the urge to go for a spin bubble inside me.

Without any second thoughts to how much I'd probably get yelled at. I slipped over the veranda rails and tip toed past the wrestling boys, Maxwell and Brady, and jogged silently to the car.

Throwing open the door and sliding in, I started the engine, and even before the door had closed all the way I'd thrown it into reverse and accelerated. Yeah, Tash was gonna kill me. But like always, and such was my biggest problem, I think, the danger only made me more inclined to do it.

I giggled, realising I was going for a totally pointless 'hoon session', in Tam's words, in my pyjamas. Shaking my head, I whipped the car around and sped forwards, racking my brains for the closest and most deserted stretch of road.

"Cause I feel the need," I muttered to myself amusedly. "The need for speed," Ah, I was a retard this morning. This must be what good sleep does to me…no wonder I never get any.

My phone vibrated wildly several times but I ignored it. The rest of the world could just wait. Damn Jacob Black, damn him to hell for making me feel like this, confused, twisted, hurt…so undeniably _broken_. How the hell had I slept last night? I shook my head as I guided the Enzo over the winding road through the forest. I must have made myself that emotionally exhausted…that I just, passed out.

The road was deserted, and I was glad that something was on my side this morning. One more corner and I opened her up. The roar of power lightened my mood and I felt myself pushed back into my seat by the pressure of acceleration.

It woke me up better then a million of the strongest cups of coffee would. My speed climbed dramatically, and ridiculously fast, though I wouldn't have it any other way. My reaction time had to be spot on, or I'd miss the turns and send myself to my death via tree-impalement.

Everything was perfect for those blissful moments. All that mattered was the car, the road and my timing, nothing else. I couldn't hear my phone, though I'm sure it was still ringing. The dash dials all lit up as I neared the maximum speed, there was a new blue one, flashing at me. _'Power jump' _it read, and I racked my brain, trying to remember why that sounded familiar.

It hit me then and a slow grin spread over my face. As the winding road turned into a straight-ish stretch I floored it again, spun the wheel so I was drifting side on, dropped it into neutral and hit the flashing '_power jump'_ button.

Things seemed to glide into slow motion, I could almost picture the springs shooting out from the bottom on the car. Hitting the bitumen and springing up, launching me up into the air. I rolled once, twice…and finally four times before touching back on the road at a stand still. The springs, made from Ty's new metal, had stretched as soon as the ground was in sight and made my landing smooth.

I was still and quiet as I let the adrenaline corse though my veins and waited to calm down. It worked. Tyler had actually done it. I'd asked him for this modification after an attempted jump from one battleship to another outside Japan had gone a little wrong. But it _worked_, and I'd discovered it on a whim, and in my pyjamas!

I laughed. I don't know why, but I did. And while laughing I turned around and drove back to Sam's, to buoyantly happy to care if I was in trouble. I was a big girl, all grown up. I could handle anything. I dunno how I got this revelation from my new toy, but it made me feel so much better anyway.

I could take anything life could and probably would throw at me. I could do it.

I put music on and looked at my phone, it was showing missed calls from Sam's home number and Tasha's mobile. What I'd expected, but also one from an unknown number. I frowned slightly and rang it back.

It was answered after the first ring. "Evie?" The voice exclaimed.

I groaned. Bloody Jacob Black! How had he gotten my number? Tasha…the bitch! I hung up and dropped it back on the other seat. Not even this would ruin my suddenly good mood, though, nope. I turned the music up and went faster, the smile finding its way back to my face.

I skidded to a halt in front of Sam's and people literally poured out of the house. I paid them no mind though as I turned the ignition off and leapt out, straight into Leah's arms, laughing like an idiot.

"It's alright, she's just gone insane!" My best friend yelled over her shoulder, she turned back to me with raised eyebrows and a small smile. "What was that?"

"It worked!" I squealed excitedly. "I didn't even know he'd done it! But it works! And it's so effing _awesome_! Seth!" I pulled out of Leah's grip and threw myself at him. I hugged him fiercely and kissed his cheek repeatedly. "You did a brilliant job! I can't wait to show you this! Ohmygod it's mad as, you'll love it."

He laughed and hugged me again. "I thought you'd taken off."

There it was, that hurt that he thought I'd leave him again. I pulled back so I could look him in the eyes and became completely serious. "I'll never leave without saying goodbye, at least. Then it'll never be goodbye because I'll see you again, okay?" I gave Leah a bright smile. "Besides, seriously people, why would I leave without taking any of my stuff, and in my pyjamas?"

Jacob was standing just behind us, fidgeting nervously, unsure about what he should do. Lucky, Tash filled the void that threatened to fall on us. "You scared the hell out of us! Don't _ever, ever_ do that again, alright?" She pulled me into another of her bone crushing hugs.

I groaned, but was still in to good of a mood to fight, which was uncharacteristically happening a lot lately, so I gave in and hugged her back. "Yeah yeah, whatever," I threw my arms around Sam, too, surprising the hell out of both of us. "Sorry I left you to her hell." I mock whispered playfully, smiling from ear to ear.

He chuckled and grinned, only hesitating for a moment before dropping a kiss on my forehead. "I'll forgive you so long as you don't do it again…she's scary." I laughed as Tash glared at us.

"Are you being…nice?" Vincent asked unsurely, looking between us. From his side, Georgia elbowed him.

"It does happen." I said dryly, and then winked at him. "Don't tell anyone, it'll ruin my rep."

They laughed. As we turned to go back inside I heard my phone go off in the car. Groaning and muttering bad words to myself I removed my hand from Sam's and jogged back to get it. "Hello?"

"_Hey, baby girl."_ Said Jay's bright, comforting voice on the other end. His endless smile could be heard in his voice even over continents. "_How are you, beautiful?" _

"I'm good, actually." I smiled. "I'm missing you though, where have you got your sorry arse this time?"

He laughed. "_I miss you to, ever the one with the compliments, Madam Moody. I'm down under, riding kangaroos and jumping off famous bridges, you still in Washington_?"

I really didn't know how to describe Jay and I. Our relationship wasn't romantic, and neither of us harboured those feelings, but it wasn't quite like brother/sister either. It was more then that, we were tight. "Really, Jay, kangaroos? What's wrong with you? But yes, I'm still in Washington." I plonked into the lounge chair next to Leah and tucked my legs up underneath me.

"_I thought you would have been a million miles away by now….their not holding you captive are they?"_

"No," I chuckled. "Though I'm sure Tashie would be madder then a bee-stung bull if I tried to leave now. I've managed a truce with my seven foot tall, wall of muscle cousin…And I think she's trying to set me up."

"_Set you up? As in, with a guy?" _He didn't sound very convinced.

I rolled my eyes. "No, with a tree, you fool." Beside me, Leah snorted and mouthed. "**Close enough."**

He laughed, always taking my comments in good humour. "_She'd have better luck with a tree. What's this guy's name, then?" _

"There's no need to get all protective, it's not like I'm going to agree. He's a bit of a psycho."

"EVA!" Tasha yelled from the adjoining room, from where she, and no doubt everyone else, appeared to be able to hear me. "Don't be rude!"

"Yes mother, sorry mother, I won't do it again, mother!" I yelled back then scowled into the phone as Jay laughed loudly. "Shut up, you."

"_Good to know your trip hasn't affected your personality. Behave and stop stirring, Evie."_

"Urgh, what is it with everyone and parenting me? Huh, _Dad?_" I accepted the plate of fresh cookies Emily was handing Leah and me with a grin.

"_Watch your mouth, young lady. I'm far too young to have such a troublesome daughter your age." _

"Funny," I muttered dryly, taking a bite out of the still warm cookie. "So, how long are you gonna be down under for? You know ol' Shamus's party is Saturday, and Tams will kill you if you don't turn up."

"_I know I know, don't worry about me. Tammy is a sucker for my endless charm…"_

I scoffed, interrupting him, and said in a mocking cheerful tone. "Yeah, that's why she showers you with such endless distaste and annoyance!"

"…_It's a sign, baby girl, that she loves me. But never fear, I'm flying home on Thursday and I'll be at the lodge in plenty of time on Saturday. Do you want a lift up there?" _

"Yeah, please, that'd be great. You just want me to drive you home 'cause you'll be smashed." I teased. "I might have a friend with me, you've gotta meet her, she's amazing. I'm still talking her into coming back with me though."

"_Ah, wonderful, is she hot?" _You could always count on the male womanising gene, they all had it.

Leah glared at me menacingly and I chuckled amusedly. "Very, you'll like her."

"Shut _up_." Leah growled, kicking my thigh.

"Leah!" Jacob snapped immediately, his voice low and dangerous. He was out in the kitchen somewhere. Did he have super hearing or what? "_Don't. Do. That_."

I causally flipped him off. Leah smirked at me and rolled her eyes.

"_What on earth is going on?" _Jay asked, sounding confused. "_Who was the angry male voice? What happened?" _

"It's nothing, just the psycho, who is really starting to piss me off." I said the last bit a tad louder so it wasn't missed. "It's…so strange."

"_Why? You've had plenty of admirers before." _

"This is…different, creepy. You wouldn't like him." Having Jay on my side, the only male older then me that I _really_ trusted, was something I liked to have happen as much as possible. And I really wanted him on my side this time. In hindsight, I shouldn't have been having this conversation where apparently everyone could hear me, but I really couldn't have cared less.

"_Do you want me to pummel him for you?" _I heard the 'smack' of his fist slapping against his open palm. He must be on the hands free. "_Is he bothering you? Maybe you should come home, baby girl. I'll meet you in Seattle if you want." _

I smiled. "Meet me there Thursday. I want to spend some more time with my family. Two more days hopefully won't kill me."

"_Alright then, beautiful. Text me, call me, whenever you want. I'll call you when I know what time my plane will land in Seattle. Don't let anyone give my girl shit, alright?" _

"Yes, Dad, I promise. Don't hit your head on passing ferries or anything."

"_Very funny, talk to you soon." _

"Of course, love you, bye."

He laughed. _"I love you too, enjoy your biscuits." _

I scowled into the phone and hung up. How had he known I was eating biscuits? Know-it-all idiot…why do I love him? I should just stay away from males in general. Speaking of males…Jacob was standing above me, glaring down at me with his fists clenched at his side and every muscle in his anatomy taught and tense.

"Can I help you?" I asked stupidly, looking at him like he'd gone insane-er.

"Who was that?" He spat, with a million times more venom then the day he had flipped over Seth. "I thought you said you didn't have a boyfriend."

"Jacob." Sam warned, also appearing out of nowhere and grabbing his arm firmly. "Come away from her, calm down before you do something you'll regret."

"No, Sam, leave him." I butted in, my eyes narrowing as my own temper riled up. "Are you calling me a liar, Black?" I slipped off the lounge, handing the half empty cookie plate to Leah and stood to my full height. Still shorter then him by a mile, but I liked to think I was getting the general point across. "Do you really want me to break your jaw? Because if you do keep going along this path, and I'll be more then happy to oblige."

"Evie…" Leah said tentatively. "Maybe you should just leave it…"

My eyes didn't move from Jacob's blazing brown ones. "No, I'm _sick_ of this _ridicules_ carry on. There's something wrong," I poked his forehead and he growled. "Up here. It's none of your business, as I've stated before, what or _whom_ I do, or spend time with, in my life. You have _no right_…"

"I have every right!" He retaliated. Taking a step closer to me that my cousin was to slow to stop, I instantly took a step back, favouring reasonable distance between us.

"Why?" I demanded through clenched teeth. Everyone else in the house had gone tense and was watching our show down with concerned eyes.

He still looked furious, but something in his eyes changed. "Because I lov…"

I saw Sam open his mouth, but before he could speak or Black could finish his sentence, I brought my hand across his cheek. The slap echoed through the room and I could hear sharp intakes of breath. He turned his wide brown eyes back to me in complete shock, his body started to shake and his tanned knuckles turned whiter then snow.

"_JACOB!_" The tone Sam used made him flinch while I stared at him, half in shock at what I'd done and how he was reacting, and half in terror as the full meaning of his sentence echoed around in my head. "Outside _now_." Sam commanded.

Jacob's jaw clenched but after half a second he turned and stomped outside, Sam on his heels. I wasted no time in bolting up the stairs and shutting myself in my room. '_Calm down_.' I chanted mentally. _'He might not have been going to say what you _think_ he was going to say._' I wracked my brains for other words sounding and starting with _'lov_', but helplessly, came up with nothing.

'…_Shit.' _

The knocking at my door about fifteen minutes later was really persistent and even more annoying. "Eva?" My sister's soft voice muffled by the wooden barrier, called to me pleadingly. "Eva, are you alright?"

"Peachy," I snapped. "I'm just suffering from a series of panic attacks. _What do you think?"_

"I'm sorry…sorry for what Jacob said, sorry for pushing you to spend time with him, sorry for everything I've done wrong this trip." She said earnestly. "Please come out, he's not here, Sam made him leave…..The bonfire is tonight, you're still coming, right?"

"Well I'm glad Sam has finally come to his deranged senses. Bonfires…hmm, will it be as insane as everything else around here?" Okay, so I was being a tad sarcastic.

She tried to open the door, but I'd locked it. "It's just another chance to catch up, I promise Jake won't annoy you. He's just…"

I slid the magazine into my hand gun with a click. "Just mad?" I continued running checks over my weapon dutifully, taking it apart and putting it back together smoothly as my sister continued to try and negotiate. It calmed me, doing this.

"Nothing will be about Jake anymore." She sighed, almost disappointedly. But she knew what I was like with guys now. The Adam situation had been explained, minus my being pregnant and engaged part, and I was utterly shocked that she had tried anything to set me up at all. "This is just for the fun of it, spending time with everyone, before you go home."

I blinked and got up, gingerly opening the door. Tasha smiled at me thankfully, her eyes flicking between the gun in my hand and my face worriedly. "You're not going to fight me leaving, now?" I asked softly, hopefully. I rolled my eyes at her apprehensive glance towards the gun again. "Don't worry, I'm just checking it." I tucked it back into the safety of my bag.

She nodded, though I don't want to know what she thought I was doing with it. "I won't fight you; I just want us to be a family again. And it's so hard when you're never around. I thought this would be our time to bond again, with Sam, with Emily…"

I sighed and sat on my bed, moving over so she could sit next to me. I lent my head on her shoulder and she wrapped me in a side on hug. "_I'm_ sorry I'm not around for you, but I _love _what I do, Tashie. Even though it causes me so much pain, I'm doing it so _you _can be safe and have your own family one day. When I go home this time, I'll come back. I won't mess things up between me and Sam this time, it won't be like before. But Black is...I can't handle _that_, Tash."

She chuckled softly. "You've no idea how happy I am to hear you say that. We'll keep Jake in check, I promise."

I smiled slightly, shoving her playfully. "You'd better, or else I'll have to kick his scraggly butt…actually, that might be fun." I gave her a wild grin that showed my teeth. Making everything all better, burying my feelings and thoughts deep, in hopes that _I_ wouldn't be able to find them.

She shook and head and rolled her eyes. "You're unbelievable."

I smiled brightly. "Why, yes, I am. Thank you."

**A/N: Ta dar! Chapter 8, done and dusted :) Things are sure getting stirred up for the pack. Oops….hehe. Anyway, it's now 2am and I am supposed to have school in, well, a few hours, so I will be off to bed now :) **

**Thank you all for reading, I hope you enjoyed it. If you did, or even if you didn't, I'd really appreciate it if you'd review and tell me.**

**REVIEW! Lol, :)**

**~Meg xx**


	9. Lessons

**A/N: Thank you soooo much too **_**RANDOM COOKIE NINJA**_**, **_**TempusSimia**_**, **_**3DWishes**_**, **_**kiki**_** and **_**brightglo**_** for their fabulous reviews! It means so much :) Please let me know what you thought at the end, guys! **

**Chapter 9: Lessons **

Tasha convinced me to come back downstairs an hour or so after our heart-to-heart. I couldn't remember the last time I'd _really_ talked to my sister. It made me feel guilty for keeping things from her all over again. I mean, she came close to being an Aunty and I hadn't told her. Even after I'd found out I was pregnant I couldn't find it in me to tell her or Mum about it. I don't know what I was afraid of, but I was.

And I still hadn't told her. What was the point in telling anyone now? That was gone. Impossible, now. I would never tell Tasha, or Mum, or anyone else about my son, about my broken shit-excuse of a life. It was my burden to carry, mine alone.

The house had quietened down, some of the boys had disappeared and Kim, Emily, Georgia and Rachel were all busy running around the kitchen preparing insanely large dishes of food. Tash and I split there, I being in no mood to adopt the womanly job of cooking at that moment, and instead wandered out on the veranda where the men had been banished to.

"There she is." Max called, turning every set of eyes to me and the ruff and tumble footy game paused. "Pay up, man." He nudged Brady in the ribs with a grin.

I rolled my eyes. "Has anyone ever told you that you might have a gambling problem?" I slumped down next to Leah on the step. She shot me a rare genuine smile and squeezed my hand discreetly.

They, being Brady, Max, Embry, Paul, Jared, Seth and Sam, gave me mock hurt looks. "Us? Gambling problem? Never!" Max exclaimed. It hadn't taken me long to figure out that he was one for the dramatics.

"Well…guess I can add delusional to my growing list of all the things wrong with you then." I said, looking thoughtful.

The younger ones all spluttered and protested indignantly while Sam just looked amused by the whole thing. He approached me cautiously, as if afraid I would run back inside and barricade myself in my room and he'd have to put up with Tasha on his own. He stopped before Leah and me and opened his mouth, then closed it again, stumped about what to say.

"Wow, Sam, your usually never a loss for words, oh mighty boss man." I teased and gave him a reassuring smile. "If you're going to apologise then don't worry about it. It's not your fault…though I _will _say 'I told you so'. I'm not mad at you."

He smiled and reached down to snatch me up into a hug, my feet dangling above the ground. We must be a hugging family. "Good, I talked to him. He'll behave now, I promise. Don't be too harsh on him though, it isn't really his fault."

I rolled my eyes but wrapped my arms around his large form anyway. "I don't like him."

"I didn't say you had to." He set me back on the ground and affectionately kissed my forehead. "Just…don't hate him, please? It'd kill him."

I looked skywards and muttered quietly under my breath in Chinese. "You're all so weird."

He laughed. "But we love you. So, who was the guy you were talking to?"

"Not you too!" I whined and chuckles erupted from our ever present audience.

"I'm your cousin, _older _cousin at that, I'm aloud to be protective of you." He reasoned.

"His name is Jay, and he's just a friend. Always has been, always will be. I think he's a cross between my older brother and my father. Satisfied?"

He nodded, pleased. "I am, actually."

I groaned. "I don't know whether to call myself lucky…or very _un_lucky."

Sam let out his booming laugh and ruffled my hair. "Well, whatever you are, you're not getting rid of us."

"Great." I think the sarcasm was noticed. They deemed it fit to leave me in peace and resume their game, all seeming pleased that the message had gotten across. I wasn't going to say that the only messages I'd gotten was that I shouldn't hate Black, and that Sam was protective.

Leah rolled her eyes at my confused face but didn't bother enlightening me. She muttered something about getting me to understand them being too much effort. I couldn't blame her. We watched the guys in silence, wincing when particular hits looked like they would have hurt. I seriously didn't know how they weren't black and blue and bleeding, but each thump just rolled off them like a wave rolling over a rock.

I was impressed. And that surprised me. Hand to hand was my forte, that and firearms, were my strongest points. Bomb deactivation made me jittery. I always worried that I wouldn't get it done in time. I could do it, I just didn't like it.

But other fighters hardly impressed me; my teachers did, of course. But as far as watching boxers and marshal art fighters rarely stirred any overall interest in me. Possibly because those people had only learned it for the sport of it, they saw it as a past time hobby or possibly as a career. To me, and my comrades, it was survival. Being that little bit smarter, bit faster, meant the difference between life and death to us.

But watching these guys, how they moved so fluently, so naturally, made my insides light up proudly, which also confused me. They were just having fun; like there wasn't any other reason to do it. Not as a hobby or career or survival, just fun. I honestly hadn't seen that without some other motive with it.

"What are you looking like that for?" Leah asked me curiously, poking my side. "Surely this isn't anything new to you."

I smiled. "It is, actually. I've never seen a group of people play like this simply for fun, and only fun. It's intriguing."

"What else is wrestling for?" Brady asked innocently, darting around Embry and managing to look at me at the same time.

I managed not to comment on how he'd heard me or how, even though his attention was on me, he managed to avoid getting bowled over. My senses were enhanced by practice and training, but I'd never take my eyes off the other people in a situation like this.

"Professional work, bored hobby, social status booster…" I trailed off, half gobs smacked as Sam leapt up and clean out of the way as Paul and Seth ganged up on him. He then turned around quickly to lock Seth in a head lock and trip Paul up at the same time.

Cousin was good.

"I've never seen anyone fight quite like you guys do, though. The style is different from anything I've seen, but it works, almost better." I watched as Seth tried in vain to get away from Sam, and Paul picked himself up only to launch himself at Max and Jared who were rolling around laughing. Despite what they were doing, I knew that they were all ears. They were very rough, rough enough to look like they should be black and blue.

Jared looked up smugly. "Well, we _are _the best. And, of course, _I'm _the best of the best." This, of course, started another argument.

"Alright!" I bellowed over the onslaught of shouting. "_Enough_!" Sam looked rather impressed himself as they stopped and listened to me. He released Seth from his choke hold. "Really, how old are you? God, I've also never seen such childishness from men your alleged ages." Men never grown up, but this is just ridicules.

"Behave, guys." Sam said amusedly. "I don't think she'll worry too much about putting you in line."

"You'd better believe it." I added with a wolfish grin. "I've kicked bigger arses then yours, laddies."

"You think you can take us on?" Paul asked, clearly trying not to laugh out loud.

I smiled lazily, stretching back and relaxing in the tiny amount of sunshine. "I know I can."

That did it for the laughing, and all seven-even Sam chuckled-burst into fits of laughter. "I'd like to see that." Max grinned teasingly. "I don't think it's possible for someone your size to be any threat to one of us. You'd even be hard pressed to beat Collin, and he's the youngest!"

I stood up, made a show of stretching, and replied mystically. "Looks can be deceiving, my dear." I smiled innocently, in the way that made me look much younger and sweeter, and kissed his cheek on the way past to stand in the open. "Who's first then?"

"Dude," Embry said worriedly, gesturing towards me. "I can't fight her, my mother raised me better then that. Not to mention Jake will kill us."

I glared at them irritably. "I'd better not be hearing that name, Em. Don't be such a sook, I won't tell your Mummy." I finished with a teasing grin. "Unless, of course, you're scared I'll beat you."

This had the desired affect as the others immediately stuck into him, teasing and carrying on like I knew they would and Embry gave a huff and marched towards me. "I'll take it easy on you." He winked.

I smiled. "No need." I launched forwards and his lightening fast reflexes had him blocked from a front attack. This was a natural response and I'd been anticipating it. I slipped sideways at the last second and jammed my fingers lightly into the pressure point on his right side. Not hard enough to do much more then make his side tingle, like pins and needles.

With a surprised yelp, Embry wavered to the right but didn't topple over. He blinked at me in surprise and rubbed his side to get the feeling back. "What was _that_?"

I laughed, bouncing lightly on the balls of my feet and winked. "I can take care of myself, Mr Call. Show me what you've got."

He still looked unsure and his eyes flicked wearily back to the group and around us. I jumped and turned mid-air and delivered a round house kick to his lower stomach. He 'oofed' with the blow but it didn't affect him much more then that.

"Lesson one: _Never _take your attention off your opponent." I emphasised this point strongly, relaying the lectures that had been given to me time and time again. I gestured for him to come at me and set myself into a defence position.

He did, still slightly hesitant, he swung a punch aimed for my jaw but he obviously wasn't giving it his all. I ducked under the blow and danced around behind him. "Lesson two: Don't hesitate. Every second you wait is a second more for your opponent to react faster then you."

Em swung at me again, more seriously this time. I saw the muscles in his right shoulder tense and prepare itself to put force behind his hit and ready his body for the jar it would give him. I leaned back, laying below the punch, at the last second and grabbed his forearm.

"Lesson three: Watch your opponent's body language to anticipate their next move." I gave Embry a quick grin and twisted his wrist inwards, immobilising his arm. In a flash I turned around and used his efforts to escape to flip him over my shoulder. He landed in a stunned heap on his back at me feet.

"Lesson four: Even strengths can be used against people. Use their momentum to gain the upper hand. It's not about being the strongest; it's about being the smartest. Boys, I hope you're listening and not off with the fairies." Giving the silent faces a stern look, trying to imitate my teachers. I'd never instructed others this way. I had no idea if I was doing it right. But it was proving amusing at the least.

I wasn't meant to be a teacher, and in truth I was surprised I was handling Seth so well. Otherwise my teaching abilities only extended to Benny and the basics of his learning.

"How do you know about this?" Paul asked, snickering at Embry as he sat up. "Dude, you just got your arse kicked by a girl."

I extended a hand down to help him up, throwing Paul a glare over my shoulder. "Be quiet you, or you'll be next. There are no shortage of martial arts teachers and other instructors where I live."

"So why'd you learn, then?" Brady asked. "Professional, hobby...whatever else you said before."

I rolled my eyes. "You'll never learn if you don't start _listening_. Look, listen, learn. Three L's, remember it. I was interested and had free time, so hobby I guess." I shrugged, trying to make the matter indifferent in case they suspected otherwise.

Max stepped up, grinning cockily. "I'm next."

I nodded, not concerned. Max had a weakness in his defence, his offence was very good. He was quick and precise but when it came to defending he was more sluggish and unsure of his movements. So long as he didn't get the upper hand I'd be fine.

We circled each other slowly, gauging each other's reactions.

I struck first, leaping straight into a one eighty turn and a kick to his stomach. At the last second he fit a hot hand between his stomach and my foot and grabbed it, swinging me around then let me go.

I hit the ground rolling, and then back flipped onto my feet just in time to drop as he took up the offence. Each of his blows only missed me by milliseconds; I could feel the wind rolling of each one.

Finally, as I dodged one way he changed his direction at the last moment and tripped me up. I landed flat on my back and he was instantly on top of me, trapping me underneath his bulky form.

I was panting lightly, having almost had the air knocked out of me. Max was grinning down at me smartly. "Does this mean I win?"

Behind us, the boys whooped and cheered loudly. "Kick him, Evie!" Leah was shouting. "_Kick the cocky little barsted!" _

I wriggled but his weight rendered my legs immobile, he was holding my hands above my head, I was effectively pinned. Embry was doing the count down for boxers in a ring when one was down. "Four. Three."

I smirked at Max's twinkling brown eyes. This wasn't the first time I'd been in this position. "Two." I stretched up, arching my body into his and slammed my mouth over his, kissing him roughly. His eyes bugged out and his grip loosened enough for me to get free. I hooked a leg over his hips and with all my strength swung sideways so I flipped up onto his back.

Grabbing his arm and twisting it behind his back, he fell the rest of the way to the ground until his was lying flat. "No, sorry honey, but I win this one." I whispered in his ear, kissing his cheek before releasing him and leaping to my feet.

The faces were the funniest thing I had ever seen. The only noise as they stared at me was the wind through the trees, rustling leaves against each other. I smiled. "Now, what did I say about distraction?"

"D-did you j-just…" Brady spluttered, wide eyed.

I raised an eyebrow. "Please don't tell me you've never seen a kiss, either."

"B-but…." He looked very confused.

I sighed. "Oh dear, please don't tell me you don't know about couples and where babies come from. I don't do the birds and the bees talk. That's just not my area of teaching." That was something I wouldn't approach, I knew it'd come out all wrong. I participated, but didn't explain it. A couple of the girls I worked with could quiet comfortably sit down and describe their male encounters in nitty gritty detail, but I wasn't one of them.

My love life, or what there was of it these days, was strictly confidential. Seeing a guy anymore then once was simply out of the question. I had rules. There weren't any shortage of guys, but…that's beside the point.

I cleared my throat and looked to Sam, silently asking for help. Luckily cousin came to the rescue. "No, no its fine, Evie," He assured me. "We just weren't expecting that…tactic."

I smiled, somewhat nervously. "Do you have any better ideas on how to distract a guy when he's got you pinned down and you can't escape?"

"Get food?" Jared suggested, laughing.

I snickered and rolled my eyes. "While I don't doubt that that would work with you guys, how exactly would I _get _food when I'm trapped?"

He opened his mouth, then shut it again, shaking his head unknowingly.

I giggled. "Exactly, thank you. Seth, you better have been paying attention."

My apprentice nodded quickly. "I was, I swear."

Paul snorted. "He'll be taking notes soon!"

"Paul, don't make me get Rachel." I threatened, waving a finger at him menacingly and smiling brightly at Max as he picked himself up and slung an arm around my shoulders.

"We should do this more often." He grinned, waggling his eyebrows suggestively. "I haven't perfected that move yet, and I'd really like to."

"I only say and do things once." I replied smoothly. "So if you weren't paying attention the first time, to bad."

"But I wasn't ready the first time!"

"Lesson five: Be ready for anything. Expect the unexpected." I smiled sweetly.

"EVA HANSON!"

I cringed at my sister's high pitched shriek and ducked being Max's towering form for cover. Only peaking around him to watch Tashie as she stood on the veranda, hands on hips, scowling at me. The rest of the guys had all retreated to a safer distance to mine and Max's side.

"Yes?" I squeaked, rather nervously, I swear she is the only one that makes me like this.

"You're filthy! You haven't been wrestling around in the _dirt_ have you?" She waved her pastel pink painted finger at me.

"Um…" She didn't approve of my unladylike characteristics. And it was an unwritten rule that I don't act like a spy as much as possible in her presence.

"Inside and shower, now, and if I catch you fighting again, so help me, Eva! And the rest of you, wash up! The bonfire area needs to be set up and all the food transferred out there before dark. You have three hours!" She spun on her heels and marched inside.

"Your sister scares me." Max muttered, looking down at me.

"Scares _you?_" I asked. "How do you think _I _feel? I lived with her on my own for three years!"

"Then I applaud you for surviving," He laughed.

Straitening up and regaining my composure, I dusted myself off. "I'm tough, I survive most things. Thanks for making my day more interesting, I'd do what she says, before she comes back."

I snagged Leah's arm as I went up the stairs. "Your coming with me, if she's dressing me up, then you're going to suffer to."

My best friend glared at me but aloud me to pull her in along after me. "I hate you."

"Sure you do," I giggled, towing her up the stairs after waving dramatically at the girls in the kitchen. "It's impossible to hate me, remember?"

She groaned in mock annoyance. "I've found it to be like that, yeah. Though, I have tried _really hard_…"

I snorted. Teasing Leah was just so much fun. It was kind of like playing with explosives. "_Suure_ you have. That's why every time I get home there's message after message from you on my home phone."

She hit my shoulder, sending me into the hallway wall as I laughed. "Shut up. I only call twice…"

I snorted again. "More like twenty times."

"_Shut up!_ It's not my fault you never answer your mobile, or tell me when you've gone away." She huffed moodily. Even _me_ reminding her that she did in fact have human feelings was getting under her skin today. "Don't start whining about people caring about you, Eva."

I held out my hands in a peace gesture. "Alright, I'm sorry. I was only toying with you. What's with you, you okay?"

She sighed and rubbed a hand over her face as she flopped onto my bed while I rummaged around in my bag for clothes. "Yes…no, I don't know. I'm sorry I snapped at you. Black pissed me off to, and when you said you survive most things…it just, struck a nerve or something."

I gave her a tired smile. "I won't say it again. Tasha hates being reminded about the way I think to. Everyone does."

"But I wish you wouldn't!" She declared, a little loudly. I 'ssshhh'd' at her and she continued in a hushed tone. "You're not the only one, you don't have to face each day alone!"

I threw a pair of undies, a bra, dark skinny jeans, a white long sleeved shirt and a blue hoddie with 'Sunshine Smiles =]' written on the back of it on the bed. "I know. I just rather it would be that way, why are we having this conversation? Haven't we been through this before?"

"Plenty of times," Leah snorted, fixing me with a hard look. "And I'm _still _trying to get it through your thick skull!"

"Then you should know to give up then, shouldn't you?" I snapped, grabbed my clothes and fled the room, taking up safety in the bathroom and even locked the door.

How had it gone from a bad day, to a good day, to a horrendous day, to a bright day, to fighting with my best friend? I groaned and banged my head lightly against the tiled wall of the shower as water cascaded down upon my body. I was going to run myself ragged at this rate. This many mood swings can't be healthy in such a small space of time, and the day wasn't even over yet.

The only things left to do today to make it any stranger was forgive Black, let Tasha do my hair and make up, dissolve into a blubbering mess and run to Sam for comfort.

Yeah, like any of that was going to happen. More then reluctantly I dragged myself out of the shower and dried myself off as slowly as possible. Tasha would be yelling at me in a few minutes about using all the hot water, and the bonfire was starting way too soon.

I sighed, wiping the steam off the mirror to stare at the scares and tattoos covering my young body. There were far too many for my age, but this was my life, and I wouldn't give it up for anything.

**A/N: Hello my lovely, lovely readers! I'm sorry this one took me a little longer to get up, I've been really engrossed in my photography of late. There's so much to learn with that it's insane :S. Anywho, chapter 9 is up and complete and I'm reasonably happy with it :). What do you think?**

**I'm INSANELY overwhelmed with all the hits this story has had! 1860! It's…wow. Lol. Maybe we could try for reviews? *smiles innocently* :) **

**Hope you all have a lovely day/night, thank you so much for reading,**

**Meg xx**


	10. I Lied

**A/N: Sorry it's been so long! It actually wasn't my fault though. This chapter has been sitting, ready, for near a week now, but suddenly had an issue with me posting new chapter to here, and wasn't letting me :S I don't know why, but it was very annoying lol. This is a bit longer chapter to hopefully make up for the lateness. My life is taking a serious turn for the hectic-ness, fair warning.  
**

**My sincerest and greatest thanks to **_**RANDOM COOKIE NINJA, brightglo, scbear7, TempusSimia, kikikiki, FallenAngelx3 **_**and **_**3DWishes **_**for their wonderful reviews. You guys and your support are what keep me going ^.^**

**Hope you enjoy this chapter!**

**Chapter Ten: I Lied**

When I finally got the guts to sneak out of the bathroom and back to my room, Leah was gone. I cringed and mentally slapped myself. What was with me, seriously? I was going to give _myself_ whiplash with my recent moods.

I refused to think I was out of line in any of this-I had enough guilt placed on myself as it was. But it wasn't Leah's fault either. I had a right to my point of view and my desires and how I lived my life. If I didn't want countless ties to the rest of the world, then that's my prerogative goddamit.

I sighed, dropping my damp towel on the floor, not bothering to hang it up. It probably wouldn't dry in this rotten weather anyway. Why did my life have this uncanny ability to make everything so complicated? Nothing seemed simple anymore.

I ran a brush roughly through my damp locks, scowling at my reflection as they became tangled and wavy. It always did this when it was wet. I didn't really like the curls, they were more annoying and harder to contain.

I huffed, dropped the brush and twisted the offending locks up into a high pony tail, didn't really help since some strands immediately fell loose and hung down the sides of my face. I traced my jaw line, tilting my head so I could get a good look at every part of my face and neck. I'd been lucky so far, ironically enough, and not had any scaring on my face where it was practically impossible to hide.

"Tsk, tsk, not turning vain are you, Evie?" The voice made me jump and spin around. Was I that distracted by looking for scars, or was this place making me loose my touch _so_ much that Sam could sneak up on me? _Sam. _His massive frame was standing in my doorway, watching my carefully with a small smile.

"Um, no. I'm a girl, I look in mirrors occasionally." I said, hoping it sounded light hearted.

He chuckled. "Are you coming back downstairs anytime soon? Or are you hiding up here?"

"I'm not hiding." I protested. "I showered, and did what I was told and got ready for the bonfire."

He raised an eyebrow. "I didn't think you were like other girls, but it still took you three hours to do that."

My eyes bugged out. "_Three hours?_" I groaned, how had I lost track of _three _hours_?_ "Oh my god…oh well, at least I got out of half the work."

Sam laughed. "So you did, you'll be stuck with cleaning up though. Come on, we're about to leave."

I slipped my phone into the pocket of my hoddie and followed him out the door, muttering to myself. "Bugger,"

I was, literally, picked up and deposited securely in between Quil and Embry in the back of Sam's beat up old blue pick up. There were boxes and bags of snacks and pre-made dishes of food. I nearly died laughing when Georgia handed me a stick.

"If they go to touch it, or if they even _look _like their _thinking _of touching it, hit 'em. And make it hard." She said sternly, fixing the boys with pointed glares before climbing into Rachel's car with the other girls.

I waved the stick, which was a half inch thick piece of pine, around menacingly. "Hear that? I get to hit you."

"Only if we do something wrong." Collin declared nervously, his voice rising an octaval. We were silent for a moment, and then burst out laughing again.

"Ah, pup," Paul slung an arm around poor Collin's shoulder and ruffled his hair. "Don't be scared of the little girl."

"Oi!" I reached over and hit him across the knees with my stick. "Who are you calling little? I totally kicked your arses today!"

"I heard about that, did you really kiss Max?" Vincent asked, turning all interest back to me alone. Quil, he, Collin and Kevin hadn't been present. And they always liked hearing the story from the person who was mostly featured, even if it was the same as what they'd been told by someone else. Although, I wouldn't put it past those who were present to exaggerate.

"Yes, I really kissed Max." I said, my tone hinting at bored-ness.

"Wow." Kevin shook his head wonderingly. "But I thought…"

Jared hit him upside the head. "Shut up!"

I raised both eyebrows questioningly but no one brought forth an explanation, so I just rolled my eyes and took in the scenery. I went silent, content to just look as the green passed and the wind pulled at my hair, loosening strands to flick around my face and knot up. Content to drift into my own world as the boys talked and laughed loudly.

My body tensed as we turned up an all too familiar road, the one that led up to the traditional place of the bonfires, a little fact that I'd forgotten about until now. We passed a simple dirt turn off and my eyes unwilling followed it up until they landed on a simple faded yellow house, nestled neatly into the forest's edge.

My old home looked the way it had always looked, though now it was admittedly a bit on the over grown side. Had no one else moved in? Was it still really the same? I hadn't been back there since the day Mum took us away. Tash had been back there several times after he died, but not me. I'd gone to the funeral then let Mum take me straight back home.

The wind seemed to get colder all of a sudden and I hugged myself a bit tighter, snuggling into Embry's side since he was emitting that much heat. So were all the others, so squished between Em and Quil like I was should have made me hot.

Em shifted and looked down at me as I laid my head on his shoulder. "You okay, Evie?" He asked quietly, wrapping an arm around my waist and pulled me closer.

I nodded, chuckling softly, though I doubt he heard it over the wind. "Yeah, just cold, and your like a heater."

I felt more then saw him smile. "It's a Quileute thing."

"I know, like the appetite thing to." I tilted my head up and smiled at him. "I'm so glad I'm not full Quileute, if I ate like you guys do, I've be the size of a whale."

The boys all laughed and I puzzled over how they had possibly heard me. "I'm just gonna label you all weird, and leave it at that." I teased, shaking my head. "I'm in no mood to try and figure you lot out anyway, I've had enough headaches today."

"Who said you'd be able to figure us out, even if you tried?" Paul asked, he was always quick to leap onto possible weaknesses, which in my opinion, made him smart as well as an arsehole.

"Who said there was anything to figure out?" Quil added quickly, shooting Paul an annoyed look which was just shrugged off.

"I do." I stated, as if it were obvious, which it pretty much was. "There's something up with you guys, and I will figure it out." I looked at Paul pointedly as the pick up came to a stop next to the other cars. "I always win." I stood up and leapt out of the back, jogging over to the girls, leaving the boys in the dust, confused.

"Your not playing with their brains, are you?" My sister asked me as I skipped over to her.

"Who? Me?" I blinked innocently. "I wouldn't _dream _of doing anything to them."

"Just don't torment them any more, their crazy enough as it is without you helping." Rachel laughed and I found a new respect for her.

I grinned stupidly. "Okay, okay. I was only confusing them a _teeny tiny_ little bit…it's so easy that I just can't resist. Has anyone seen Leah? I have some major sucking up to do."

"She's helping Sue." Emily told me with a smile. I seriously don't think I've ever seen her _not_ smiling. "She's bringing the desert and plates and stuff."

"Oh okay. Why didn't anyone come and get me? I could've been making myself useful."

The five of them traded looks. "Well, we thought it'd be better if we left you on your own for a while." Kim said carefully, avoiding looking me in the eye.

I snorted. "Are you guys seriously _that _scared of me?"

"No." Tasha said immediately with a frown. "I just suggested that you might need a bit of cool-down time. I love you, Evie, but you can be a right bitch. And you were fighting with _Leah_. I think that's a pretty good indicator that you needed to be left alone."

"You make me sound like a temperamental wild animal." I muttered, though I knew she was probably right.

"But you can be helpful now." Georgia piped up, dumping another box of snacks from the boot of Rach's car into my arms. She sent me a smile. "These have to go on one of the tables that are _supposed_ to be coming off Max's pick up."

I looked over to said vehicle, which was indeed loaded up with tables, but was not being _un_loaded. "I can be the supervising sergeant if you'd like." I said, perking up. "Things will be done in double time." Not waiting for a response from the girls I shouted to the boys. "_Oi!_ You lazy, overgrown halfwits! Get your scrawny arses into gear and get the tables off that heap of shit._ NOW_!" It kind of scared me that I could imitate my ex-marine combat teacher so well. He was the type of person that just had to look at you and you complied with everything he said in favour of not being killed on the spot.

They stared at me, like everyone, and I narrowed my eyes. "Are you deaf as well as stupid?"

"Wholy shit, I knew she was nuts but that is just scary." I heard Vincent mutter to Brady, who had kind of paled.

"Hop to it!" I demanded, planting my hands on my hips. "We don't have all day! Maxwell, Paul and Kevin, get the tables off. Jared and Collin, unload all the food-devour _one_ crumb and I'll have your hides made into mats. Quil and Brady, move all the logs around the bonfire. Embry and Vincent, build up the fire. Sam, help our beloved elder guests get comfortable. And Seth, next lesson: How to command a group of people, even as incompetent as these fools."

My apprentice shot to my side and smiled nervously at me, looking thankful that I wasn't directing my combat-marine persona at him. "What about Leah and…well,"

I finished for him. "Leah is fine. If the other one shows his annoying self, then tell him he's to clear this beach of every rock and stick. Now, onto your supervising lesson, it is by no means the easiest job. Organising other people to complete an operation is more difficult then being handed a single task to complete."

He nodded, taking it in and probably wondering if he was going to be the one to tell Black what his single task was. Probably also wondering if I was joking about it or not. I was half inclined not to be.

"While everyone else only has to think of this one thing, you have to think about _every_ single aspect going on and be prepared for every problem you may encounter." I paused when there was a loud bang and a string of curses as Max dropped a table on Paul's head.

"Don't be such a sissy, Walker!" I all but bellowed. "Laurence, you prat, you break one of them and you'll _walk_ back to get another one _and_ pay for a new one!" Max looked at me with a small smirk, pleased at getting Paul, it faded to an obedient nod as he took note of my expression. "Don't any of you morons think that I can't watch you all at once either! _Collin_! _What'd_ I say about eating the food?"

The poor kid actually spat out the marshmallow and retreated behind Jared for cover. Oh yes, I was good at this. This may not be exactly what most people aim to be good at but…well, I never said I was normal did I?

I sighed. "How you lot survive, I'll never know." Glancing at Seth I patted his arm comfortingly, he looked a little worried. "Don't worry, you've pretty much gotta be a complete arsehole to be really good at this. There's your Mum, come on."

As Sue's car pulled up, Seth and I trotted up to meet her and Leah. I threw myself at my best friend and crushed her in a hug. "I'm sorry." I said sincerely.

She just smiled a little and shook her head. "It's okay, you're you, and I happen to like you the way you are. I shouldn't be asking you to change."

I beamed and she looked around at the proceedings with narrowed eyes. "What on earth is going on? Are they _all _working?"

I nodded and waved off her surprise. "I decided to make up for all the work I missed out on before." I bounced over and hugged Sue. "Hi, Aunty Sue."

"So you decided to make the boys work double time?" Leah called to me as she grabbed the box of paper plates and bowls from the backseat.

"Durh,"

Sue laughed and kissed my forehead. "That's the spirit, how come you missed out on job, Seth?"

Her son shrugged and smiled boyishly at her as he grabbed the other esky of what I'm guessing contained the deserts. "'Cause she likes me,"

"He's got a job." I said, tugging on Sue's hand to come away from the car and any type of work. "I'm teaching him how to be a supervisor, that's the hardest job of all…excuse me." I took a couple of steps away from her and yelled. "_WALKER! What _the_ hell _are you_ doing? _Get off Laurence_, right now!" _

Paul had Max on the ground and was in the process of shoving his head in the sand. '_What has Max done this time? Blithering idiot.' _

"He fucking started it!" Paul yelled at me. The rest of the boys were giggling like school girls and I saw bets being laid. Sam was just shaking his head.

"Well _I _don't give a fuck _who _started it, I'm _ending_ it! Now get your arses up and finish setting up, then you can kick his arse into next week for all I care." Giving them the don't-make-me-come-over-there look that I used on Ben when he was being particularly stubborn, I escorted the Clearwater's down to the rest of the girls.

"Hi Sue, Leah," Emily smiled, somewhat tentatively at Leah. "We appear to be all sitting down, thanks to Evie."

"I have _never _in my _entire_ _life_, met such _imbecilic fools_ as these guys. And I know some really bad ones." I muttered, not really paying attention to what Emily was saying. "I swear, I'm going to wring some necks soon."

Leah laughed loudly, dropped the box she was holding on the ground and flopped onto the sand. "Couldn't have said it better myself. But, if you kill them, who you will turn into slaves?"

"I'll find someone." I said noncommittally. "Ateara! Bloody _hell_ boy!" Maybe it hadn't been such a brilliant idea to put Quil and Brady together, there was a bit of difference between them and Quil was certainly stronger. Judging by the fact that the log he had just picked up single-handedly and handed to Brady had the younger struggling under the weight.

"What?" He asked innocently. "It'll build up his strength a bit."

"You're not supposed to kill your co-workers, you moron! The less people there are the more work _you_ have to do." I snapped. "Listen up; you've got _ten minutes_ to have everything ready. If you fail to meet this deadline, the consequences will be severe."

"Oh, I'm scared!" Kevin smirked.

"Don't tempt me," I said dryly. "Haven't I proved I can break the unbreakable façade you've got going? Seriously, I'll beat the _crap_ out of you all before the days over. Ten minutes."

Georgia raised her eyebrows and smirked. "I'm envying you right about now. All we can do is yell at them and make them feel bad. But you, you can hit them _and_ yell, you're lucky."

I snorted. "You could always kick them in the nuts. Don't matter who they are, so long as their male, that's bound to hurt like all hell. No blow is more fatal then it."

I heard all the groans at once and immediately they started yelling at me to shut up. I just laughed then stopped abruptly and glared. "Isn't there still work to be done?"

They went back to it, Sam I'd let off easy and after helping Billy and old Quil down he stayed with us, sending a smile my way. "I never knew you had it in you."

I chuckled. "I never knew you'd actually listen, came as a bit of a shock."

He grinned. "I find it kind of hard _not_ to listen to that tone. Are you sure there's nothing you want to tell us? Little secret?"

I tried not to fall over. My heart rate skyrocketed, my breathing became irregular and my eyes shot to Tasha and Leah, half in panic and half accusingly. But both shook their heads ever so slightly. I swallowed my panic and fought to regain my calm and answer Sam.

"Whatever gave you the idea there was a secret?" I said, in what I was hoping was a confused, non caring tone.

He just kind of narrowed his eyes suspiciously at me and shrugged. "Must just be a family trait then."

"Yeah, maybe," I muttered, rubbing my hands over my face. _'WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU?' _My mind yelled at me. '_What the HELL was THAT? Since when do you react like that? Are you trying to give yourself away, you stupid GIRL?' _

I snapped at my mind, even my little inner voice was getting the better of me these days. I groaned out loud when he-who-shall-not-be-named-'cause-it'll-piss-me-off wandered down the road towards us. I leant my head on Leah's shoulder and waved in Seth's direction. "Go and give _it_ its assignment, and I want a restraining order issued."

"You're serious about that?" He asked tentatively. "It'll take forever."

"Thus the point," I muttered.

"Who, Jacob?" Sue asked, confused.

Billy sighed. "What's he done to upset you, honey?"

Grumbling, I looked at him pointedly. "I'm sorry, Billy. But your son is a lunatic and I recommend mental help as soon as possible. And I really don't want to talk about what he did. In fact, I forbid it to be mentioned. _Ever_."

He heaved another sigh. "I'm sure it wasn't that bad…"

"Oh, I'm positive it was, and oh so much worse." I winced, smiling at Leah as she threw an arm around my shoulders. It felt like a weight had been lifted now that we weren't fighting. That's the best thing about true best friends. No matter what you were fighting about, you always made up and were right as rain again before the day was over.

I watched out of the corner of my eye as Black hesitated a moment before deciding to head over to Embry. Clever choice. "Can't I just run?" I whispered to Lee.

She chuckled. "Don't be such a sissy, Hanson."

"Hey! Why are you copying me? Your not sticking up for Paul are you?"

She gave me a disgusted look. "Don't be stupid. Since when do you run from problems?"

"Since I'm not aloud kill this problem." I returned dryly.

She looked at me sympathetically, but it was gone faster then it came to cover it up. "It'll be alright, Evie."

I sighed, hoping to any and every higher power that she was right.

The night went surprisingly well; even more surprisingly was that I enjoyed myself. Black kept his distance, thankfully, I was sure I would've snapped if he'd tried to talk to me. He kept looking at me though. I felt his boring eyes into me nearly all night. It was unnerving, to say the least. And I just _knew _it was him, like his gaze suddenly had its own feel to it.

We talked and laughed and told stories, well, everyone else talked and laughed and told stories. I tried to distance myself as much as possible. It was impossible not to join in on the laughter though. I stayed around the elders as much as possible however. Then we ate and laughed some more, then it was time for the legends. The atmosphere changed dramatically and everyone quietened down and drifted back to the circle around the fire. Billy was chief, so he would tell them.

I remembered these. I remembered snuggling up to my Dad's side as we listened to Jacob's granddad tell them when we were young. I glanced over at the little toddler, Claire. She was Emily's niece and was currently perched on Quil's lap, staring at Billy with wide eyes.

I wonder if that's what I looked like on these nights. Tugging my hoddie closer I turned my attention back to Billy, whilst trying to keep warm and still breathe as I was squished between Leah and Tasha.

I listened intently, getting drowsier as the night wore on and Billy's lulling voice slowly sending me to sleep. Not in the bored way. He'd just started on how our tribe are the descendants of wolves when my phone vibrated wildly in my pocket, making my giggle softly as it tickled my stomach.

Muttering a bad phrase to myself I pulled it out and checked the caller id, well aware that Billy had stopped speaking and everyone was looking at me. I stood up, it was Maddy.

Tasha's hand shot out and grabbed my wrist. "Eva!" She hissed. "Put it away! You're being disrespectful!"

I pulled from her grip and matched her tone. "I have to take it! Excuse me." I jogged a few paces from the fire where I was hopefully out of earshot and answered. "Hey, Mads."

"_Oh, Evie, thank god you picked up_!" She said, sighing in relief. Her voice sounded muffled and there was a familiar noise in the background of helicopter blades and the buzz of the engine.

I narrowed my eyes and spoke in Portuguese in case we were overheard, couldn't be too careful around this lot. "**What's going on, what's wrong?**"

"_**I need you to do me a favour.**_" She said quickly, speaking back to me in Portuguese also. "_**I know you're with your family but I really need you to do this, Evie.**_"

"**Of course, just tell me what's going on!**"

"_**I need you to watch Ben for a while. I've got an assignment and Dan has been assigned on with me. I don't know what else to do with him. I need him to be safe…**_"

"**Of course I will, Mads. When is Benny **_**not **_**safe with me? Of course I'll watch him, I love having him, when?**" I interrupted her flustered speech.

"_**Now, I need you to be in Forks in half an hour, we're flying over.**_"

"**I'll be there. What's the assignment?**"

"_**Africa, rogue gorilla group, well, more rogue then normal. Their after some high diplomates and they called in a favour and asked us to help.**_" She said. "_**With their elections coming up its hell over there, I don't know how long we'll be gone.**_"

"**Not as bad as Afghanistan I'm sure. No one's madder then those barsteds.**" I muttered sourly, feeling the sting of my back at the memories of just how mad they really were. "**Be careful, I'll see you for the drop in twenty-five.**"

"_**You too, see you then, sister.**_"

I snapped the phone shut and jogged back to the fire, where there were some very confused faces.

"I have to go, I'm sorry." I kissed my sister's cheeks and looked at Billy apologetically. "Chief, I'm apologise," I brought my fist to my forehead in a sign of respect, speaking in our traditional language. "I have not forgotten." With a last smile I jogged up the beach.

"Evie! Wait!" Tasha yelled hopelessly.

"I'll be back soon!" I shouted over my shoulder. I sprinted up the sandy track to the cars and almost had a heart attack when a hot hand flew out and grabbed my forearm. "What do _you _want?" I snapped at Black as I recovered quickly, dropping out of my defensive stance. "I have to go!" I yanked my arm away and continued running.

"You said you could only speak Spanish, Italian, French, and Chinese." He called after me, sounding hurt and confused.

I almost ignored him and kept going, but at the last second I stopped and spun around. It was well and truly dark, and I could only just make out his outline with the shadows of the fire down below.

"I lied."

**A/N: PLEASE READ! CONTAINS SOME IMPORTANT INFORMATION! -And there you go, things are startin' to happen :) **

**Note, the Quileute language is a font that I found and downloaded off the net, it translates into "**_**Chief, I apologise. I have not forgotten." **_**I have no idea how they traditionally address and speak to each other, or if that is even the right language, but it'll do for now (-:**

**I really hope you enjoyed this chapter, I had a tone of fun writing it and it's mostly just for the humour side of things. As I mentioned at the beginning, my life is really busy at the moment, and I'm having trouble finding time for everything. We're in the process of moving PLUS I've got a heap of assignments due and, **_**overdue**_**, but we shall not mention that, lol. I don't know when the next chapter will be, HOPEFULLY not to far away, but I thought I should let you know that, that's about the end of the important information, lol. It will be posted as soon as it's ready-permitting that allows it!  
**

**Please, please, please, PLEASE review! Your thoughts and support is the best encouragement and helps to keep the chapters coming (: **

**Lots of love, **

**Meg xx**


	11. Ben

**A/N: Sorry it took a bit longer for this to be up then I said. I've hardly been home at all this week, and when I was we had no power :/. **

**Anyway, thank you **_**so **_**much to **_**kiki, Mythical Words, RANDOM COOKIE NINJA, TempusSimia, brightglo **_**and**_** Ettare **_**for their wonderful reviews! It means so much to me, guys :)**

**Hope you enjoy this one!**

**. : Chapter 11: Ben : .**

I had to sprint all the way back to Sam's to get my Enzo. There was no way I was going anywhere in public in one of their beat up old things that looked like they might _die_ at any second. I was going to have to make sure that Seth and Leah got cars that were at least reliable.

I threw open the door and dove in, thankful that I'd left the keys in there earlier. Then, to put it simply, I drove like a complete manic to get to forks on time, probably only a little worse then the usual for me.

I nearly swerved off the road while I was bringing up the GPS to figure out where they'd land the helicopter. "Shit, oops." Bringing it back on the road, I hoped like hell Charlie wasn't hiding behind one of these trees.

They were on a set timetable and they really couldn't afford to wait for me and anymore delays would cause a hold up. And hold ups were very bad in the spy world. The most likely, and inconspicuous, place to land a helicopter was a few kilometres out of town, accessed by a dirt track that should be…about seven and a half kilometres ahead on my right.

oOo

I came to a stop in the dark clearing, moonlight the only light after I turned off the headlights. The rumble of the V12 engine cut with the lights and turned the whole thing almost eerily silent. I was used to the silence though; scenes like these were comforting to me. '_Although,'_ Inner voice said wryly. '_You know the saying 'the calm before the storm.''_

"You're just a vote of confidence, you are." I muttered sourly to myself. "No wonder I'm always being recommended to shrinks and idiot Mental finds me so interesting." Talking to my inner voice as if it were another person is probably a reason, too…

The distant, familiar buzz of a chopper lightened my mood considerably and I slipped out of the Enzo excitedly. The noise got louder and the lights appeared over the trees. I grinned widely and had to restrain myself from waving my arms around madly.

The wind from the blades of the Black Hawk whipped up leaves and dirt and pulled my hair completely out of its tie, but, I couldn't have cared less. Shielding my eyes I jogged over as people slipped out of the chopper.

"Maddy!" I called over the noise, smiling and hugging my best friend then kissing the top of the toddler's forehead in her arms. "Hiya beautiful boy."

"Aunty Evie!" Benny cried, holding his arms out to me.

"Hi, Evie," Maddy said. "Thanks so much for this, darl."

"Don't be stupid!" I chided her, taking my godson in my arms and hugging him close. "You know I'll always take him! I'd be furious if you _didn't_ ask me!"

She laughed and ruffled her son's hair. Maddy looked ready for action, dressed in tight black clothing with guns strapped to her belt and her hair twisted up in a bun. I didn't know how she managed it, but where ever she put her hair, it always stayed there. "Well, you know you're my first choice. I feel better leaving him with you then alone with Dan."

"Hey!"

We both looked at her husband and laughed. Danny was well overloaded, carrying nappy bags, a car seat, one black briefcase and a silver metal one, and a lead clenched tightly in his left hand, which was attached to my very scared looking Mutt. My poor little thing was being forcefully dragged behind the blonde scientist.

He dropped the stuff at my feet and pushed the leash into my hand. "Here, that dog _hates _me."

"Animals hate you, dear." Maddy replied without missing a beat. "Ignore him. He's just nervous about working in the "field"." She did the quotations with her fingers and rolled her eyes. "_Field, _being a perfectly safe government building. That's practically a fortress."

I looked at Dan and raised my eyebrows. He adjusted his glasses and tugged on the collar of his black turtle neck. "Don't mock me. I've never done field work before!"

Maddy snorted and I got the impression that this argument had been going on for a while. "You're not _in_ the field! You're changing labs, _temporarily_! I'm in the field all the bloody time!"

"Alright, alright, that's enough!" I butted in before either could continue. "Danny, stop being such a sook. Rule number one: No arguments in the team!"

They both gave me toothy grins. "Yes Ma'm."

"Good, behave, no more of this shit or you'll get yourselves killed." I ordered, and then sighed. "Look what happens when I go away…"

"Well you can't come back yet." My partner declared. "I won't have anyone to watch him otherwise."

I laughed. "Fine, fine, go on get off with you, then." I looked down at the stuff. All three nappy bags looked ready to explode. "Are you sure that's everything? Did you forget the kitchen sink? You do know that the Enzo is a two door sports car and not a small truck, right?"

"Ha ha, very funny," Maddy said, pulling me into a hug and kissing Ben's cheek. "We probably won't be home for at least a week, depends on how it goes."

I smiled. "I do know the drill, he'll be safe, I promise. I'll be heading home on Thursday so that's where we'll be."

They nodded and Danny took his turn to ruffle Ben's hair and kiss his forehead and my cheek. "Thanks again, Evie. Let's see if Maddy can't manage to kill me."

"Oh get lost." I laughed, shoving him away. "I think your pilot is getting impatient." I smiled and nodded at the dark figure waving them over madly. "Have fun!" Ben and I waved as they ran back and climbed into the chopper, waving back as they buckled themselves in.

We stood there in silence until they'd disappeared and we were back in the cover of slight moonlight.

"It's dark." Benny whispered, laying his head on my shoulder.

I smiled. "It's alright, baby. There's nothing to fear here, come on, Mutt." I felt the little hair ball get off of my foot and tug on the lead. I walked back to the Enzo and put both of my precious cargos in the driver's seat and turned on the headlights. "Wait there, Benny. I'll be back in a sec-don't play with the buttons." He was a good boy, when he was told not to do something, he didn't do it. "Mutt, sit!" My quivering white ball quickly hid behind the brake pedal. Poor baby, what had Danny done to traumatise him? I smirked. Mutt had probably traumatised Danny just as bad.

I got the stuff and jammed it into the boot and put the car seat into the passenger. Strapped Benny in, removed the dog from behind the brake and drove out.

"So, what are we doing first?" I asked brightly, smiling over at my beautiful boy. The closest I would ever get to a child of my own.

He thought about it for a moment, his forehead creasing in concentration. "Ice cream!" He yelled suddenly.

I laughed and turned left to go into Forks instead of straight back to the res, which suited me just fine. "Sounds like a plan, little man."

He giggled bubbly, in that voice that all little kids seem to possess that makes your heart melt. Yeah, he's totally the most spoilt kid in the world when he's with me. We talked all the way to the diner in Forks, which admittedly wasn't far, but Ben could talk under wet cement and his speech is very good for a child his age. That probably has something to do with the flash cards his father is always shoving down his neck.

Dan is a brilliant father, it's just he's a little…early on the teaching side of things.

Pulling up and securing Mutt to a post out of harms way, I carried him into the warm, homely diner and chose a window seat. The waitress, a short, curvy, blonde girl with thick glasses, braces and a brilliant smile to match was quick to serve us.

"Hi, I'm Steph, what can I get ya's?" She grinned at us, putting her pen to the pad in her hand.

"We'll have two chocolate sundaes, thanks." I replied, smiling at her attitude. Most teenage waitresses and waiters I'd come across were like the ice queen reincarnated.

"And a pink soda!" Ben added from opposite, pulling his worn tan teddy bear up onto the table top. I'd gotten it for him when he was born.

I chuckled and rolled my eyes at the girl who giggled. "And a pink soda, please,"

"Not a problem, it'll be ready in a jiffy!" She said and bounced off.

"Aunty Evie?" Ben asked after a moment.

"That's my name, don't wear it out." I answered automatically. "How can I help you, honey?"

"What's a…jif-fee?" He always had questions.

"It means soon, sweets, the nice lady will bring your sundae out soon."

"Oh…"

I chuckled, kids, gotta love them. I jumped when a hand landed on my shoulder, I looked up, ready to tell whoever it was off but the words died in my mouth.

"Hello, Evie." Charlie laughed. "Sorry I startled you, mind if I sit?"

I smiled and gestured to the empty spaces either side of Ben and I. "Charlie, of course you can!"

He slid into the seat next to me and smiled at Ben, tipping his hat to him before taking it off. "I didn't know you had a kid, Eves."

"Oh, no," I said, swallowing the pang in my chest. "He's not mine, he's my godson. I'm just baby sitting. Charlie, this is Ben Livingston. Ben, this is Charlie Swan, he's the boss of law around here."

Benny made an 'o' shape with his mouth and smiled shyly at Charlie, who extended his hand over the table for him to shake. He stared at the much larger hand for a moment then looked at me, and when I nodded encouragingly, he cautiously took Charlie's hand and shook it.

"Welcome to Forks, kiddo, you staying out at La Push?"

Benny shrugged, squeezing his bear to his chest. "I dunno,"

I laughed. "You are, BB. We're staying at my cousin's place…" I paused, briefly wondering if I maybe should have at least yelled out that I'd be bringing back a young child, small dog and shit load of stuff home with me to said cousin.

Charlie nudged me. "You wouldn't have happened to have not told Sam you were going to be looking after this kid, would you?"

"In my defence it was a very last minute thing. Like I only found about half an hour ago. I didn't have time to tell Sam." I wondered what their reactions would be when I waltzed in with a toddler younger then Claire in my arms. Probably panic, knowing the boys. This would be fun. I'd have to make up some ridicules story as to why they were all massive for Benny though. So he wasn't scared of them, I couldn't use the steroids option, since any mention of drugs made the three year old more nervous.

Sometimes I really wish his parents, though I love them both to death, would've waited to teach him things. I mean, he's three for heaven's sake!

Charlie just laughed and waved off any concern I had. "They won't mind. One more tiny mouth to feed in that place is hardly going to bother Sam and Emily."

"I'll just have to make sure he doesn't get squashed." I returned dryly, brightening up when the waitress returned with our orders. She set a chocolate sundae and the pink soda down in front of Ben and the other sundae in front of me.

"There ya's go, enjoy. Hi Charlie, what I can I get ya?" She asked happily.

Charlie smiled at her. "Just the usual thanks, Steph,"

"Coming right up!" And she bounced off again.

"I thought you were only out for the weekend, thought you'd skipped off without coming to see me." He turned his attention back to us, watching Benny shovel a large spoonful of the cold, yummy substance into his mouth and probably wondering how he didn't get a brain freeze. I wondered the same thing.

"Benjamin," I scolded softly. "Don't eat it like that; you'll give yourself a headache."

True to small child form, he looked sheepish and spat half of it back onto the spoon.

I scrunched my nose as Charlie laughed. "And don't do that either, that's disgusting. Jay's been around you again, hasn't he? I swear, one day I'll kill that man for rubbing off on you…" I suddenly got the horrible thought of what he could pick up whilst among the La Push guys. I shuddered. "It's been decided that I'm now staying until Thursday. Don't worry, Charlie, I haven't forgotten about you."

He laughed and gave me a one armed hug then we settled into conversation.

oOo

It was late when I finally pulled up in front of Sam's. Too late for Benny, who'd fallen asleep before I'd even gotten him back out to the car. Charlie and I had lost track of time catching up, which was evident when we were eventually kicked out of the diner so they could close.

To my surprise there were lights on in the house. I didn't know if they'd still be at the bonfire or in bed. As I stifled a yawn I knew where I wanted to be. Smiling at the peaceful figures of my godson and dog, curled up fast asleep in the seat made me wish I had a camera on me. Quietly, I got them both out without waking Ben up and carried him inside while Mutt lagged along behind me.

The TV was on, but I didn't take any notice of who was in there. I smiled weakly at Sam, Tasha, Leah and Seth and ignored Black. They were all sitting around the table. It looked like I'd disrupted a deep conversation.

"Oh, Eva!" Tasha sighed in relief.

"Shhh!" I hissed, cradling Ben closer as if to protect him from the eyes that quickly zoomed in on him. "You wake him and I'll kill you."

Sam was frowning. "You've brought a kid home?"

I rolled my eyes. "Well done, genius. I'll put him upstairs, and then we'll discuss this." Without waiting, or worrying, about his answer I silently ascended the stairs and entered my room. I laid Ben on the bed and tucked him in, no idea where else to put him. Mutt leapt up next to him and curled up to his side. I kissed Ben's forehead and patted Mutt affectionately before leaving the room. I left a door ajar a little to let some light in, in case he woke.

As soon as I stepped foot off the last step, I was bombarded. Tasha flew up out of her seat and crushed me into another hug. I rolled my eyes and disentangled us. "Really, Tasha, I haven't come back from the dead."

"You just went to get Ben? Where on earth did you get him from? Why?" She fired the questions at me at a million miles per hour.

I made an annoyed noise and went to the coffee pot. "Yes, I obviously went to get Ben. I got him from his parents, funnily enough, because their both going on a business trip and obviously couldn't take him with them. And I am his godmother therefore I am the best person to look after him. I had about as much warning as you."

"He is your godson…right?" Sam asked tentatively.

I rolled my eyes to the ceiling. "_Yes _he's my godson, isn't that what I just said?" I made myself a coffee and went back to the table, slumping into the chair next to Leah tiredly. "How'd the rest of the bonfire go? Did Paul totally kick Max's arse?"

As soon as I mentioned Max, I saw Black go ridged out of the corner of my eye. '_Good.'_ Inner voice snapped miserably. _'Hope it's torturing him, hope it hurts to the core, hope it burns like a hot iron on flesh.' _I turned away from him more, blocking him completely from my vision. Dear lord, what was that?

"Yeah, Paul kicked Max's arse, totally wiped the floor with him." Seth chortled happily.

"Mmhm, then I kicked _both_ their arses." Leah put in, quite obviously pleased with herself. I was too. "And Kevin's and Quil's for good measure."

"You should totally be taking notes from your sister." I told Seth casually. "The guys around here hit like girls, I won't see you turn into a chick."

Sam scowled playfully at me. "Are you saying I'm a chick?"

I thought about it. "Maybe not you," I decided. "Since it's proven we're related and people _actually know _that we are. I can't be caught with a dude-chick for an older cousin."

"I think…that I'm going to take that as a compliment. And that you think that I'm not one because I'm not, and not because I'm your cousin." He said slowly.

I reached across the table and patted his hand. "That's the best option. Now, if you people will kindly excuse me, there's work to be done and sleep to be had." I stood, took my empty mug to the sink then walked out to the Enzo. I had just popped the boot and taken one of the overloaded nappy bags out when the weight was plucked from my hand.

I stared at Black with narrowed eyes as my whole body tensed. He avoided looking me in the eye and instead leaned around me to gather the other bags, loading himself with all of them.

"What are you doing?" I managed to ask, trying to keep my voice low and calm. Trying to ignore the heat that I could feel off him, and how it prickled my skin and threatened to make me shiver. I tried not to notice how the weight of the load didn't affect him at all. Where Danny had been struggling, Black looked like he'd picked up a feather.

"I'm helping you." He replied, his voice was stiff but still flowed like hot honey. He stood straight with the bags and finally looked at me. In the dimmed light I could only just make out his expression. He looked worn and rugged. Like someone who hadn't slept in days even though he had looked fine this morning, a little pissed and slightly delusional but fine otherwise.

"I don't need your help." I ground out, trying to take the stuff from him but he just held it out of my reach. "Don't be stupid, what the hell are you playing at?"

"You lied to me." He mumbled after a stretch of silence as I tried in vein to control my anger and not rip him to teeny tiny shreds.

Why did he cause these reactions in me? It was like he was a virus attacking the wall of my control. Whatever emotion he provoked in me, it was getting harder and harder not to show it. I couldn't slip, just couldn't loose control.

"Excuse me?" I started mentally tearing _myself _to shreds as my stomach constricted and started trying to tie itself in knots at his physically pained expression, and that he remembered when I said I'd lied. Why had I said I'd lied! What is _wrong _with me! Why not just say I'd forgotten that one! Why make more questions and things harder for myself?

I must subconsciously enjoy being mentally tortured and so inflict these situations on myself purposely. This probably makes me the stupidest person on the planet, or the most deeply disturbed.

"You lied," He choked out. He looked like someone had punched him in the gut. No, worse, kicked him in the balls. "About the languages you could speak." Like I didn't know what he was talking about. "Why did you lie?" He whispered the last part, his eyes pleading with me to answer him.

"I don't want to speak to you." I snapped, tearing my eyes away from his and biting my tongue until I tasted blood. '_Protect the job, protect the secrets, protect your team, protect yourself.'_ Another headline lesson drummed into me during training. '_Never divulge information to any undeserving party, and even if they are deserving, don't tell them anything without proper authorisation.' _Black is _not_ deserving, nor has anyone authorised him to know anything about me. "I'm_ not_ speaking to you."

I tried to walk away but he grabbed me, dropping half the bags in the process but he didn't seem to notice, or care. "_Please_, Evie! Please, I'm begging you, don't do this!"

'_Don't do what, exactly?' _His grasp on me was solid and I couldn't escape. "Let me go." I snarled, kissing calm and collected goodbye along with control. "I swear, Jacob Black, if you don't let me go you won't live to see tomorrow…."

He reluctantly released me, the pained expression only deepening. "I'm sorry, Eva. I'm so sorry. Please believe me when I say I can't help it…"

"You can't help this? What you're doing to me?" I said disbelievingly and scoffed. "Pull the other one, its got bells on it." I grabbed the bags and high-tailed it to the house and straight up the stairs.

I nearly forgot that Benny was in my room as I pushed the door open and dropped the bags angrily at the bottom of my bed. I quickly remembered when I heard his whimper and Mutt's incessant gurgling type snoring. Running a hand through my hair helplessly, I sighed and perched on the edge of the mattress.

I smoothed my fingers through his soft blonde curls, his innocent eyes flickering half open to look at me questioningly. "I'm sorry I woke you, sweetheart." I said, leaning down to kiss his forehead. "Go back to sleep, everything's okay."

He nodded drowsily and shut his eyes, quickly falling back into peaceful slumber.

I pulled my shoes off and changed in the bathroom then slipped into bed. Absentmindedly playing with Benny's hair as he snuggled into my side and Mutt ended up lying across my feet. My mind was locked on the soul-killing expression adorned on the russet face that appeared in front of my vision every time I closed my eyes. I cursed mentally as I couldn't block it, or stop the twisting feeling in my stomach as I squeezed my eyes shut and tried to sleep.

**A/N: Maybe Evie's finally loosing her mind? Some Jake-induced confusion there anyway lol. Progress is progress, isn't it? (: **

**Anyway I hope you enjoyed it. Lemme know what you thought!**

**Please review! Press the button, press it press it press it! :D**

**~Meg xx**


	12. Hunter or Hunted

**A/N: Hellooo my lovely readers! Hope you're all doing well! PLEASE READ THE END AUTHOR'S NOTE! Or check my profile regarding news on my moving and possible temporary absence!**

**Thank you so, so much to **_**kiki, Mythical Words, RANDOM COOKIE NINJA, 3DWishea, TempusSimia, Happy2BeeMe, JellyBeane**_**, **_**ForeverTeamEdward13 **_**and **_**DreamingInATeacup **_**for the reviews! I love hearing from you!**

**Hope you like this chapter, let me know what you thought!**

**. : Chapter 12: Hunter or Hunted? : .**

"Aunty Evie," A small voice probed at the corners of my mind. "Aunty Evie, 'ake up."

"Mmhm?" I breathed, gingerly peeling open one eye to stare sleepily at the equally sleepy blue eyes inches from my face. "What is it, Benny?"

"I need'a ooze the baff'oom." He whispered.

I frowned. He what? It took a minute for it to click that he said he needed to use the bathroom. "Oh." I sat up and smiled at him, rubbing my eyes. "'Course you can, come on, I'll show you where it is." I took him down the hall and opened the door.

He staggered inside and closed it behind him. I smiled and shook my head. He was determined to be a big kid as soon as possible. I waited outside. I mothered him to much, but I couldn't help it. I didn't want him to grow up. Benny, poor unlucky baby, was the closest thing I'd get to a child of my own so…I fussed over him and spoiled him rotten. To put it simply.

I heard the flush and the 'splat' of his bare feet across the tiled floor as he emerged, reaching up and taking my hand.

"Did you wash your hands?" I asked, scooping him up.

He paused and shook his head. "Can't weach,"

I chuckled and took him back in, holding him up over the basin as he washed his hands. He wrinkled his nose at the flowery smelling soap and I laughed. "It won't kill you, hun. Come on, let's get you dressed and go find you some food." '_And, introduce you to the hoard of people that are undoubtedly downstairs devouring every crumb_.'

After rummaging around in the nappy bags, I finally located his clothes. Little kids clothes are just the most adorable thing on the planet. Beside the little kid, that is. And the little shoes…ah hem. Okay, so I get mushy and sentimental over kids. Shoot me.

I'd just gotten him into the mini, dark blue jeans and had just turned to grab the 'Bob the Builder' shirt when he squealed happily and bolted out the door.

"Shit!" I hissed, he did this sometimes, and you had to chase him for ages. It was one of his favourite games. "Ben!" Mini shirt in hand, I flew out after him, Mutt bouncing excitedly on my heels.

He'd just scampered down the stairs as I got to the top one and took off through the sea of legs and disappeared. I leapt onto the rail and slid down, landing in a crouched position in time to see his small frame dart into the lounge room.

"Ben, get your butt back here!" I skidded around Embry, grabbing his arm to turn my momentum in the right direction and leapt over the lounge, earning a grunt and string of protests as I disrupted Vincent.

Ben was laughing joyously and he squealed and ran behind the recliner Sam was lounging on. Expertly, I followed him step for step until he ran into the middle of the room and made to go back into the kitchen. I closed the distance between us and plucked him up mid-run and threw him up into the air and caught him. He laughed and shrieked more as I blew on his stomach and cradled him in one arm and tickled him with the other.

"S-st-stop!" He cried, trying to grab my hand in both his smaller ones. "A-aunty Ev-ieee!"

I laughed and did as he asked, kissing his chubby cheeks as he panted. "No running around in this icebox until your dressed, m'kay? I don't want you getting sick, young man."

He nodded wordlessly and swayed a little as I perched him on the arm of Sam's recliner. My cousin was watching us with amused eyes. "Arms up," I instructed and Benny did so obediently and I pulled his shirt over his head. "Good boy." I picked him up again and cuddled him. "Okay, introduction time."

He lifted his head from my shoulder and looked around at all the grinning people shyly.

"This is my cousin, Sam," I pointed to each person as I said their names. "You remember Tashie, right? That's Vincent, Brady, Collin, Jared, Kim, Paul, Seth, Embry, Quil, Emily, Leah, Kevin, Max, Georgia and," I wrinkled my nose as Black watched me intently. He didn't look much better then he had last night. "Jacob." I finished, saying his name shortly then ignoring him. "Everyone, this is Ben."

They waved and smiled and said hello. Benny just buried his face in my neck under all the attention. I chuckled. "They won't bite, BB. If you ever need anything and I'm not here then I want you to ask Leah or Emily. You can go to Tashie, too, if it's not food you want," I poked my tongue out at my sister playfully. "And if their not around then you go to Georgia, and if she's not around that you go to Sam or Seth, okay?"

He didn't look up, but he nodded understandingly.

"What's wrong with the rest of us?" Embry asked, pouting at me.

I snorted. "Entrust the rest of you idiots with the most precious thing in my life? I don't think so. Is there any food left, or have you demolished it all?" I patted Seth's bare stomach as he sprawled out next to Vinnie. "One day you'll blow up."

He laughed and patted my shoulder. "Sure, whatever you say, Evie."

I rolled my eyes and took Ben over to the bench where the girls were. They smiled and 'awed' at him predictably. "Come on, kiddo, what do you want to eat? And it has to be something healthy since you got ice cream for dinner." I set him on the bench top and leaned down to look him in the eye. "Speaking of which, we'd better keep that between us, your Mum and Dad might not approve." I'd be lectured on proper eating for _days_.

Benny nodded seriously. "Okay."

I smiled brightly, reassuring him that nothing was wrong. "Awesome, now, if you ask Emily _very_ nicely, she might have something for you to eat."

He looked at his lap nervously and I tilted my head to the side, nodding encouragingly. He took a breath and looked up, straight at Em, having no problem remembering who was who. "Excuse me, Emily." He said in a quiet voice. "May I p-please have something healthy to eat?"

I beamed proudly and ruffled his hair. "That's my boy."

Em stared at him, and then smiled. "Well I'll be…of course you can have something to eat, sweetheart. You're the nicest young man I've ever met. What would you like? I can do pancakes, toast, eggs, bacon, cereal, muffins…there's fruit to."

Benny looked at me imploringly. I chuckled. "You can have whatever you like, I won't tell." I winked and he giggled a little, before turning back to Emily, more confident.

"May I please have banana pancakes?"

Emily was already moving to get the ingredients. "Absolutely, honey."

"Hey Em…?" Max called in a whinny voice. "Can we…"

"No." She answered shortly, sending a glare in the boy's direction. "Ben has better manners then all of you put together. And you've already had breakfast."

"But we're still hungry!" Collin sniffled, in an attempt to look cute.

"Are you three and adorable?" Leah asked, putting her hands on her hips.

They shook their heads. "Not three…" Paul grinned wolfishly.

"Didn't think so, so shut up."

Ben was gawking at her and the guys, who were once again all shirtless, in stunned amazement. Leah looked down at him and her angry expression softened. "Hi, Ben, I've heard a lot about you." She pointed at me and smiled a little. "She talks a lot."

"He's my favourite godson, I'm aloud to talk about him as much as I like." I sniffed defensively.

"Aunty Evie?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm your only godson."

I grinned and laughed. "All the more reason for you to be my favourite then hey?"

He grinned. "Can we go to the theme park when we get home?" Ah, he always liked to use this power he had over me. Not that I minded in the slightest, I was the one who taught him to like all the good things.

I nodded. "Yep,"

"And to the movies?"

"'Course,"

"And can we go for a drive in the Enzo later?"

"Sure,"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Kevin intervened, waving his arms and pouting at me as sadly as humanly possible, he looked like a puppy that'd been denied food whilst being starved to death. "This kid gets everything he asks for!"

"Only if he asks me," I grinned.

"That's not fair." Quil pouted. "It took us ages to get you to let us even get in the Enzo! Even for Seth!"

I rolled my eyes. "A day is hardly ages. Don't be such sooks." I redirected my glare to the stairs when I heard the shrill ring of my phone. "'Scuse me, peoples." I flew up the stairs and dove on the device. "Hello?"

"_Hey, Evie_!" Dan's happy voice said. "_How's things_?"

"Fine, brilliant, how are you? Aren't you supposed to be working?"

"_I am working. I'm perfectly capable to multi-task thank you_." Now that he said that, I could hear the tapping of computer keys. "_I couldn't resist ringing, I'm sorry. I had to check up on you both_."

I laughed. "Well we're both fine, I promise. Everything alright there?"

"_Yes, yes, everything is going according to plan. Yet we still have no idea how long it will go on for. I don't think I have ever missed America so much in my life." _He complained.

I chuckled. "You're a sook, you know that right? Would you like to speak to your son?"

"_I can spare a moment or twenty. How is he settling in? Are your family being nice to him? What's he doing now?" _

"And I thought I was a mother hen." I laughed. "Dan, trust me, don't worry. I'll die before anything bad happens to Ben. He's doing just fine, the girls love him and I have the feeling he'll be spoiled rotten for his entire stay here." I smiled as I went back downstairs, grinning even wider when I saw Leah talking to Ben.

"_That is hardly unusual. You spoil him all the time. Spoilt children develop bad characteristics…"_

"Oh, don't be ridicules. Ben doesn't have a mean bone in his body. Besides, you know I'll do what I like, no matter what you say, so you might as well save your breath, brother."

"_Har de har har,_" He muttered. "_Very funny."_

"Ben, would you like to speak to Daddy?" I asked, ignoring Dan's mournful complaining with great amusement.

Ben perked up and nodded eagerly. I handed over the phone and he pressed it to his ear excitedly. "Daddy!"

I smiled and left him to it, drifting around the other side of the bench to help Emily with his, and probably my, breakfast. I smiled brightly at her and she matched it. Wordlessly I started chopping up bananas and dropping them into the mixture she'd not long finished making. The house was oddly quiet, yet no one had left. The only real noise was Ben babbling away happily into my phone.

"What's with the silence?" I asked, handing Emily the banana mix so she could start cooking. "He's not that hard of hearing that you all have to be deathly silent, you know." My eyes briefly locked with Black's, through no fault of my own, but before anyone could respond Benny was holding the phone out to me.

"Aunty Evie, Daddy wants to talk to you!" He said in a sing song voice, the tone that we'd taught him to use when someone was in trouble.

Ha, I'd like to see Danny try and get one over on me. I plucked the phone from the tiny hand and kissed the chubby cheek. "Thanks, BB. Hi, Daniel, what can I do for you now?"

"_Those brief cases are catch up. The girls want you up-to-date, something about some week in Paris? Anyway, it needs to be done, and I think Maddy put in something extra she wants your help with_."

I nodded to myself. I'd forgotten about Paris, it was the fashion week/show thing soon, so not my thing, but the girls were ecstatic about it. "Yep, no problem, I'll get onto it right away." As soon as I've had breakfast…and possibly done some other stuff.

"_I know what your thinking, and I may allow you to eat, but then it has to be done. ASAP, Eva, got it? Maddy said it was important…"_ The unmistakable sounds of rapid gunfire sounded over the phone and Dan cursed. He never curses. He's like the geeky Boy Scout for crying out loud.

"Dan?" I asked hurriedly. "_Daniel!_ What's going on?"

"_I've got to go, take care of Ben, we love you both, bye." _The line went dead and I swore under my breath.

Chewing on my lip to the point of almost drawing blood, I turned around and ran my hands through my un-brushed hair. This was just brilliant. I felt so useless here, doing nothing, when I should be in the thick of it with Maddy. Making sure she came home to Dan and Ben every day. Damn, I'm never taking a holiday again.

Emily cleared her throat. "Evie, is everything alright?"

"What? Oh…yeah, fine." I sighed and dropped my phone on the bench, slumped in a chair at the table and dropped my face into my hands. I couldn't help it, I was worried.

Before long I felt tugging on my pants leg and lifting my face, I saw Benny looking up at me with a scared expression. I sat up straighter and he climbed into my lap.

"Is Mummy and Daddy gonna be okay?" He asked as he curled into me.

I wrapped my arms around him and smiled tiredly at Emily as she placed a full plate of the mouth-watering pancakes in front of us. I glared at the boys who eyed it hungrily. "Of course, baby. They'll be fine and home before you know it. I promise." I kissed his forehead and turned him towards the plate. "Eat up, I'm just gonna run upstairs and take a shower okay? Leah will stay with you." I lifted him off my lap and got up, setting him back down on the chair.

He pouted at me but this time I stayed firm. "I'll be back soon, sweetheart, don't let that get cold, okay? Remember to thank Emily, won't you?" He nodded and I ruffled his hair. "Good boy."

'_Maddy said it was important…'_ If Maddy was trying to drag me away from my vacation time-which she always insisted I needed more of-to go back to work-which she insists I do to much of-then 'important' must be dire. And dire was probably not good.

My hands expertly snapped open the locks on the metal briefcase after I closed the door behind me. An A4 envelop lay across the top with my name scrawled across the top in Maddy's elegant handwriting. I lifted it up and smiled at the laptop resting underneath it. I pulled out the papers from the envelope and frowned slightly at the letter on top, written in the same perfect handwriting, only in Arabic.

_Hi, Evie, _

_Make sure your alone for this. I only received this info this morning and so far, I'm the only one that knows. I picked it up on one of the security cameras in an LA airport. This is your call. Whatever you decide to do I'll be right behind you. This bloody Indian assignment has undesirable timing, so please, I beg of you, don't do anything until I get back. _

_I know nothing more then what is enclosed in this envelope and I've left it up to you to decide how you want this handled. I wish I could have told you this in person but our job has yet again interrupted. _

_Take good care of my son, and yourself. I'll contact you as soon as we get home. Give my love Ben, you'll no doubt hear from Daniel some time. _

_Love, your sister, _

_Maddy_

I frowned; even more confused, and tentatively pulled the letter aside to view the next sheet. It was a flight timetable for the aforementioned Los Angeles airport from yesterday morning. The flight from St Petersburg- Russia to LA that landed at ten past seven was highlighted orange. I pulled it aside to and I swear my heart stopped at the CCTV print out.

Dressed simply in dark jeans and a green and white t-shirt with a backpack slung over his shoulder, was Adam Taylor, strolling across the terminal like he owned the godforsaken world. The picture wasn't the greatest of qualities but it was good enough to see that he'd had a hair cut and that he still wore the leather necklace with the real shark's tooth.

I felt like I'd been punched in the gut, I couldn't breathe, couldn't blink, couldn't look away from the face that I'd know anywhere.

_I checked the VP70 9mm semi-automatic hand gun for what seemed like the millionth time and sighed. It was as perfect as the first time I'd checked it. This drop was the most boring thing I'd done all week. And I thought that nothing could top the plane ride to Italy on Tuesday. _

"_Stop fidgeting, Evie!" My partner's voice came across the coms' unit in my ear. "You'll give away your position for god's sake." _

_I scoffed. "Unlikely, I highly doubt their eyesight is good enough to see me all the way over here. Can't you hurry up? I'm dying out here and I could really go for a rice cracker with cheese and tomato sauce…"_

"_That's disgusting, honey." Said another amused voice. _

_It immediately brought a smile to my face. "Shush, Adam, let's not forget whose fault my cravings belong to." _

"_Takes two to tango, baby." _

"_Urgh, would ye both be quiet before I'm sick?" Adam's partner, Joey, groaned in his Irish accent. Really, there was a Brit working for the CIA and an Irishman working for MI6. Adam and I were the only ones working for the countries we were born in. _

"_Alright, alright, can we be professional for five minutes and get this over with?" Maddy asked. I could picture her on the roof top across from the warehouse, scowling at us. _

"_Yeah, hurry up boys, I'm starving out here." I added cheekily. Adam and Joey were in the warehouse with the package ready to hand over to Austria in exchange for their package. Maddy and I were positioned so far away that we needed binoculars, or in Maddy's case, the sniper rifle's scope, to see the doors. Okay, so I was exaggerating a little, I wasn't _that _far away…but still…_

_I hummed softly and rested my free hand over my stomach and smiled. Six more months and I'd be holding the life that was currently growing inside me in my arms. Tyler messaged me just the other day and told me it was a boy. My little Oliver, my precious baby boy. _

_We've been so busy running around the world that I haven't gotten a chance to tell Adam the news yet. He'll be thrilled, I know. Even though he said he'll be overjoyed no matter what sex our baby is, I know he wants a son. Someone he can teach to play football and talk cars with. Not that he wouldn't love it if it was a girl, but there's always next time for that. _

'_Next time?' I thought, a smile lighting up my face yet again. I hadn't even had this baby and already I wanted another one? Yes, another one would be nice… _

"_Adam! What the bloody hell are ye doing, boy?" Joey's voice screamed over the coms unit. _

"_What?" I yelped. No, nothing could go wrong, not this time, not now! This was my last mission before I took pregnancy leave, nothing could go wrong! "Adam? What's happening?" A string of Austrian, which I have yet to learn, filtered across the coms unit followed by Joey's shouts and pounding footsteps. _

_I leapt from behind the building opposite and ran towards the warehouse entrance, ignoring Maddy's orders for me to stop. It all went in slow motion then, all I could hear was the yelling over the coms but it all sounded like gibberish to me. I was less then fifty metres from the old warehouse when it erupted in a bright cloud of orange and the noise shattered my eardrums. _

_The force of the explosion flung me backwards and pain exploded in my abdomen as smoke and flames licked up the building that contained my lover and so much more. I screamed, half in pain of my injuries and half in fear for Adam. My world became fuzzy and I barely recognised Maddy's panicked voice near me yelling for help through her phone. Barely felt her hands on me and didn't register her words. Pain clouded every sense until finally it all went black. _

I sniffled as I pushed the memory of that day away and wiped my damp cheeks. I hadn't seen or heard from Adam since that day. And to my knowledge, neither had anyone else I knew. I toyed with the idea that he was dead sometimes, but I knew he wasn't, because we never found his body in the destroyed warehouse.

Joey had survived, just, but the Austrian agents had perished in the explosion. It was only from Joey that we learned basically what happened. The forty year old had just managed to dive into what would have been the office when the warehouse was still in use and it had luckily shielded him from the worst of the bomb.

Not good enough though, Joey was now a paraplegic having lost the use of both his legs. Adam wasn't his favourite person now. That hurt us too. Even though it was a joint mission between England and the United States he shouldn't have betrayed his partner. Our partners are our only hope in the field. The only person you can depend on, or are supposed to be able to depend on.

And yet…Adam had ruined Joey's life.

Joey told us that as soon as the meeting started it didn't go according to plan. Adam started asking about other things, I don't know what, but the Austrian didn't take kindly to it and pulled a gun.

Adam pulled a detonator and threatened to blow to place to kingdom come if he wasn't given both packages. From what Joey could remember Adam got both, then ran. The Austrian's went after him and he pushed the button.

I sat heavily on my bed and stuffed all three papers back into the brown envelope. I don't know if Adam knew I was hit in the blast. I don't know if he knew he'd killed his son. I don't know why he's back in the country.

If I hadn't gone to help him, if I hadn't been hurt, Oliver would be a month old now. Was that why he was back? Did he think he had a child here somewhere? He was in the wrong city if he was looking for me, though. What do I do now? Tell my agency or hunt him myself? Or just ignore it and stay away from him? I don't know.

I lifted the laptop out of the briefcase and set it aside on the bed. The top of the padding had flicked up as I'd pulled it out. I pulled it right out of the case and stared at the twin Smith & Wesson M&P series .45 ACP handguns nestled snugly in the bottom of the case. Their magazines lay next to them and boxes of cartridges were tucked into the foam packaging as well.

Maddy was obviously worried that he'd come looking for me.

Shit.

**A/N: And the plots thickens! :D Hope you all enjoyed this chapter, it was certainly fun to write, but I'm not so sure if the beginning sounds alright or not…?**

**As you know, my family and I are moving in the next couple of days (if it doesn't rain and push back the schedule) so I can't really say for sure when I'll be able to update again. We won't have internet straight away, and I have no idea how long it will take to have that set up. I will try to post another chapter before we go, as a make up for absence, but if I can't, I'll just post several when I have net again. **

**Really sorry about this, but there's not much I can do! **

**Thank you so much for reading! Hope you liked it! **

**Please review!**

**~Meg xx**


	13. Plans No One Likes

**A/N: Hey guys! I know it's been a little while, but ya'll know moving stuffed up my schedule well and proper. I wanna thank you all for your patience, and the amazing feedback I got on the last chapter! It made my whole month :) Thank you!**

**My deepest and sincerest thanks to **_**TempusSimia, brightglo, JellyBeane, DreamingInATeacup, kikikiki, Mythical Words, RANDOM COOKIE NINJA, Happy2BeeMe, ShatteredKunai **_**and **_**'Lil Obsessed**_** for the reviews! Mwah! (:**

**I hope you all enjoy this chapter, please review at the end and let me know your thoughts!**

**. : Chapter 13: Plans No One Likes : . **

I had a plan. Or, more the beginnings of a plan that no one would like. _I_ wasn't even particularly thrilled with my plan, but it was the best option I had.

There was a man, the biggest, nosiest, sexist, rat that has ever walked the earth, who also knows just about everything about everyone in the spy world. And if he didn't know, he could pretty much be guaranteed to find out.

He'd be locked up if it weren't for how useful he was. CIA had bought him and his Intel to stop any tit-bits about our agents getting out to other countries. But Wayne could usually be swayed away from this agreement with the right payment.

The point is that if anyone would know, or could find out about Adam, it would be Wayne. And as much as I found him annoying, he was well worth his weight in information. So I ran from my room into the bathroom and had a quick shower then darted back into my room.

I noticed distractedly that it was kind of disturbing referring to a room in Sam's house as mine. But I quickly disregarded the thought and got back to the urgent task at hand.

I texted him as I dried off and rummaged around in my bag for clothes to match our meet location and my cover. It didn't take him long to reply, as predicted.

'_Well, well, Miss Hanson, what can I do for you?'_

'**Can we meet?'** It was always better to do these things in person. I could get better control of the situation if I was there in person to…_sway_ the terms. If only I'd thought to pack knives.

'_When and where, darling?'_

I rolled my eyes. Wayne would chase any member of the opposite sex and I, unfortunately, was no exception to this. Even though he was over twice my age and I had made it crystal clear that I was not, nor would I ever be, interested. But, he was easier to persuade if given the right kind of encouragement. '**Today, Seattle, AllStars club,' **

A club was a good public place, it was loud and often packed but everyone was too busy with their own lives to notice anyone else's. '_I'll be there at four thirty, don't be late.' _

I rolled my eyes again as I did up the clasp on my black bra. I was organising this, why on earth would _I_ be late? **'You don't be late.'**

I snapped the phone shut and dropped it on my bed as I continued getting ready. I'd have time to kill before I had to meet him, but I wanted to get away from here as soon as possible. I didn't want anyone to know and Leah would no doubt press to find out. I'd be home late again, but Ben would be in safe hands here, and everyone else would just have to deal.

I pulled on black stockings over black panties that matched the bra, not that anyone would be aware of this but anyway. I shimmied into a black leather skirt that was about three inches to short and pulled on a red silk top. It hugged my curves and dipped low down the front, and hung down far enough on my back to expose my tribal tattoo and part of the wings.

Inspecting my reflection in the mirror, I plastered a fake smile across my lips and applied eyeliner, mascara and blood red lipstick. I brushed my hair and pulled it over my shoulder, letting it hang there naturally. Grabbing the pair of black high heeled boots I slid them on and zipped them up. The tops came up almost to my knees, so they well and truly covered my leg wound.

I threw my phone into a black clasp purse and slid one of the handguns into my right boot top, then grabbed my favourite black leather jacket and pulled it on. I zipped it up and did one last sweep of the room to make sure I'd put everything incriminating away before I walked out.

My heels clacked as I strode down the stairs and drew all eyes to me as I came into view. Black stood straight as a board when he saw me, and my eyes were unwillingly drawn to him. He looked star struck, shell shocked, gob smacked...and every other phrase to describe shock.

"Evie…" He breathed, taking a step towards me.

"Wow…" Max mumbled then winced as Black snapped out of his stupor to march over and thump the back of his head. I rolled my eyes.

"What's the occasion?" Embry asked, also running his eyes over me.

I shrugged and went over to Ben who was being nursed by Leah as he flicked through a book. He looked up as I approached but frowned when he took note of how I was dressed. He'd been around spies long enough to know where we were leaving for spy-related-business.

"You said we were gonna do stuff today." He pouted sadly, not needing to ask. He knew I was going away.

"I know, sweetheart, but I have to go meet someone today. I'm so sorry, BB, I promise I'll make it up to you, okay?" I leaned down, making sure to bend my knees. This lot had seen enough of my thighs thank you. I kissed his cheek and left a red imprint of my lips there. "Can you stay with him, Leah?"

She was giving me a calculating look but sighed and nodded. "Where are you going and how long will you be gone."

"I'll be back tonight some time, don't wait up, it'll probably be late." I said apologetically, wincing and groaning internally as I heard a sharp intake of breath.

"Why are you dressed like a hooker?" My sister squawked.

I rolled my eyes to the ceiling and sighed. "I'm not dressed like a hooker, I'm going to meet someone, there's a difference." _Give me a sec while I think of something else to describe this outfit as…._

"You're planning to get laid obviously." She said disapprovingly.

"WHAT?" Sam and Black bellowed at the same time. Seth covered his ears and muttered a drawn out 'eeewww'. I didn't blame him.

"Cover your ears, Ben." I commanded and he did so with no hesitation. I rounded on Tashie. "Whether or not I screw someone is of no concern to _you_. But, if you _must_ know _my_ business, it won't be the person I'm meeting." I smiled evilly, deciding to distress her more. "But you never know, I might find someone else, it's never been hard in the past."

While Tasha puffed herself up to yell at me some more and Sam and Black looked ready to either explode from anger or faint. I walked right out of the house. I had a bad track record with…other male-related activities. After I recovered physically from the accident, I ran off the rails a little. When I mentioned clubs or having an interest in guys now it sent a lot of the people I knew into overreact-mode.

"Evie, wait!"

I groaned. "I'm gonna be late, I will be back." Did he ever give up? What was it gonna take to get it through his thick skull that I was not interested, and never would be?

The hot hand on my arm brought me to and abrupt stop and I was spun around so fast I lost my balance and would've fallen if he hadn't caught me. His face had the same tortured expression that made me wince. "Can you just spare me a couple of seconds, please? I know you hate me, and you don't want to speak to me, but please…I need…I just need…" He trailed off, lost for words to describe what he 'needed'. His dark eyes bore into mine, pleading with me to comply, to understand.

"Make it quick," What am I saying? Why am I giving into him! God, I've officially going insane. It was those goddamn eyes of his, I just knew it. They were so dark and gorgeous and what in the name of all things holy am I thinking? Insane. That's all, I've just gone insane. No need to panic…

"Who are you meeting, is it a guy? Are you dating him? Oh god, you love him don't you?"

"Shut up! What the hell are you going on about? _Love_? Get a grip, Jacob Black!" I yelped, yanking myself out of his scorching hold, that I could feel even through my jacket, and backed up to my car. He was seriously starting to freak me out. "It's none of your business who I'm meeting! Haven't I already stated, multiple times, that I'm not dating anyone? I don't love, not romantically. It's a useless emotion to me." If there was a wall nearby, I'd be banging my head against it right about now. Since when did I loose control of my tongue?

Jacob looked torn between being relieved and even more distressed. "Oh…I'm sorry…"

"If I hear you say sorry one more time I'm going to hit you. It's getting seriously annoying and it's totally wasted on me." I said and he looked hurt again. "I have to go."

"Where are you going, what time will you be home?"

"I'm going clubbing, make a note to tell Tasha that will you? Should freak her out some more. And I have no idea, look after Ben and I suppose I'll see your pain-in-the-arse self later then." I got in my baby and got the hell out of there.

The wheels spun and sent dust everywhere. I did like to make things more dramatic, made everything more interesting. And leaving behind a completely insane, kinda hot, and really confusing guy behind in a cloud of dust seemed like a good idea to me.

I sighed dejectedly. He was really starting to send me crazy, I mean, I wasn't very stable to begin with…but this is just ridicules. Who thinks this way? Me, apparently. I turned my focus onto the meet, anything else, I just had to get him out of my head!

As soon as Black left, however, Adam popped in. For the love of all things sweet, what is with me and guys? Why is it that I attract the crazy, heart breaking ones? I scowled at the road stretched out in front of me in frustration. I must be a magnet for them or something.

The more seconds that ticked by and the closer I got to Seattle, the more nervous I got. Nervous was a foreign feeling to me, I prided myself on being calm and confident…spy traits. But this, this was different and I wasn't in the mood to convince myself otherwise. What if Adam was here for me? What if he didn't know that he'd killed his child? The thought that guilt hadn't been plaguing him for all this time made me fume. Why was I the one left to suffer, when he was just as much to blame as I was? Why had he escaped my fate?

I don't know how lenient my agency was of murder. Actually I do, and the answer is we're _not_ lenient. I've never killed someone I wasn't supposed to kill before, or not directly by my hand anyway. I know my boss has interest in Adam, and in the words of Marcus from Bad Boys, _'dead suspects can't say shit'_. I doubt that Adam would be forth coming with information anyway, dead or alive. But I doubted my ability to not kill him even more.

My hands gripped the steering wheel so tight my knuckles turned white and I once again found my speed climbing. I decided it was a much better idea to calm down and get to Seattle in one piece.

I wasn't a murderer now. But that didn't mean I couldn't become one.

oOo

When I finally arrived in the city I felt more relaxed. It was easier to hide in a place full of people, where you didn't recognise every other person who walked down the street. I still had plenty of time to kill so I explored a little. Mapped out the area around the club that hadn't opened yet, got something to eat, found a park and worked on preparing for the meet.

As the time finally came, I was relatively ready to face Wayne and handle whatever he could tell me. I strode into the club, which was about half full, with easy going confidence. Like I was just a girl coming for a night out, no problems no ties no secrets.

I ordered a drink from the bar and moved my way to an unoccupied booth and sipped it as I watched my surroundings. The alcohol burned my throat but it was a welcomed sensation. I just had to remember not to get too smashed.

The large clock above the bar said four forty two when a body slid into the seat opposite me. I raised my eyebrows at Wayne as he took a mouthful of his beer and watched me over the top of his glass.

"You're late." I said, monotone.

He grunted. "You're lucky I was in Portland and not across the country. I'm aloud to be a little late, kid." He looked like he always did. He was one of those people who never seems to change. His dirty orangey coloured hair was slicked back with to much gel, his face was red from to much sun, ironic if he'd been anywhere near Washington. His suit was neat, though the colours were horrible, dark blue jacket with vertical orange stripes and matching trousers and a lime green shirt with orange tie. No prizes for guessing his favourite colour.

"Now," He said, leaning forward on his elbows. "I hope whatever this is is worth me time, since ye dragged me away from me holiday time."

I scoffed quietly. "You never work. And when do I associate with you when it's not important?"

He gave me a smile, a creepy one that showed his yellowing teeth. "Ye don't know what you're missin', sweetheart."

"Oh, I think I'll survive."

He gave me a long look and we fell into silence as he stared at me. I tapped a fingernail on the table top in annoyance until he spoke. "I know what ye want to see me about," His voice was low and secretive. Not that anyone could have heard us over this music.

I raised my eyebrows and stopped tapping, trying to ignore the constricting in my chest as my heart beat a little faster. "Oh really?"

He nodded and took another mouthful of beer, something which I personally hated, and smirked at me. "An ol' friend arrived back in the states the other day, nice fellow, til he went a bit crackers. Your bosses are lookin' fer him, have been fer months now."

"Spit it out, what can you tell me?" I demanded in a snarl.

"Steady, pet, what do I get out of this? I'm sure you're not the only one after these juicy bits of information I've got." He gave me another of his creepy smiles and his eyes drifted to my chest.

I however, was not in the mood to even humour him. I slid my booted foot up the inside of one of his legs slowly, then slammed it in his crotch and smiled nastily as he gasped and let out a little squeak. "You tell me what you know, with not a word of a lie, and I let you keep your manhood. Sound fair?"

"Ye drive a hard bargain, missy." He whimpered, his face getting redder and a layer of sweat became visible across his forehead. I put a little more pressure on his privates and examined my fingernails uninterestedly. "Alright, alright!" Wayne wheezed. "I'll tell ye, just stop crushin' me balls, for the love of god!"

I released the pressure and fixed him with the dirtiest glare I could manage. "Well?"

He waved me off, catching his breath and running a handkerchief over his sweaty face. "You're a cruel little shit, ye know that? Everyone reckons you're a piece of work, Eva Hanson. No doubt you'll go a long way in this world…"

"I plan on it." I snapped, taking a moment to be pleased that I had a reputation. "But _you_ won't go far if you don't stop dithering around!"

He nodded quickly. "I'll tell ya, I'll tell ya. Ye want to know about Adam Tyler, am I right?"

I glared.

"I'll take that as a yes…"

**A/N: There we go, you finally have chapter 13! Am I up to that already? Sheeish. Lol. How was it? Just on a note, I have no idea about clubs in Seattle. AllStars just popped into my head when I was thinking about names and I just went 'might as well.' So yeah, lol. **

**Pretty please leave your thoughts! Next chapter shouldn't be to far away,**

**~Meg x x x **


	14. Her Best Friend

**A/N: Hello Lovelies! Sorry about the wait, been busy **_**again**_**. I have exams coming up and I've been away working and will be again next week. Thank you for your patience and I hope you enjoy this one!**

**Thank you **_**'Lil Obsessed, kiki, brightglo, RANDOM COOKIE NINJA, AppoloniaAstria, SasoLOVE111, KerynSuA, Happy2BeeMe, 3DWishes **_**and **_** TempusSimia**_** for their a.m.a.z.i.n.g reviews! Love yas! **

**. : Chapter 14: Her Best Friend : .**

~LEAH POV~

It was late. And I'd already been chipped several times for pacing and wearing a hole in Emily's floor. I snorted internally at the thought. There was quite obviously no hole. There weren't even any new scuff marks! They were just trying to get me to calm down.

Evie hadn't been lying when she said she'd be late home. It was already half past ten and I had blankly refused to go on patrol and Sam, for once, decided not to be an arse and let me off. That unfortunately meant that Black got off to. Ever since that little prat had imprinted on Evie, he'd been hounding me with questions about her.

'_What's her favourite time of day? Does she like movies? Do you think she hates me that much that she'd say no if I asked her out? Does she really hate me? _I swear, I have never seen anything so remotely pathetic in my whole life. He even wasn't this bad after the whole Bella and the leech thing. He was driving me insane!

I had managed to keep Evie's secrets from everyone else so far, not counting Mum. But with everyone thinking about her it was getting harder, and I couldn't betray her like that. So after I nearly killed Max for thinking about their kiss-which did get back to Black and nearly resulted in Max dying _again_-Sam decided that it would be for the best that I only patrol with Seth. Which was a whole lot better, but I still couldn't slip up, since Seth couldn't keep a secret to save his life.

It wasn't that hard to do though. They all say there are no secrets with us wolves, but that's not true. All you have to do it not think about it and they don't find out. Hardly rocket science, but it involves will power, something the male population doesn't possess much of. Idiots.

So now, Sam, Black and I were taking turns pacing back and forth across the kitchen floor. Tasha sat at the table, her fiftieth cup of herbal 'calming' tea clenched tightly in her hands. I don't think its working. She'd tried to make me drink some, but that hadn't ended well. Emily had also refused to go to bed and had turned her time to baking more food.

I could officially kill Tasha. She's known about the wolves longer then the rest of us have. Since her father and grandfather told her and Sam the stories long ago in case it happened. So she knew what could happen…and yet she still forced Evie to come back here, and look what happened! Jacob Black sees her and bam! Imprints! If Evie ever finds out…it won't be pretty.

Ben was a cute kid, and Black had taken Evie's cast-off words this morning deathly seriously. He hadn't left that poor kid's side all day. He guarded him like a demented watch dog, doing everything to keep him happy and safe that you'd almost think that he'd imprinted on him. Shudder at that thought. It was all to gain brownie points though, and I caught him several times trying to get information out of Ben about her.

Sam had had to use the alpha command on us then to.

_Why _did he have to imprint on _her_? _Why?_ Hadn't life dealt her a bad enough hand so far without mixing her up in all this supernatural bullshit? And Black was going about it all the wrong way. The other guys had taken things much slower, not almost telling their imprint that they freaking _loved _them on what…the third day?

"Idiot," I hissed quietly. "Stupid, stupid, _idiot_."

"What?" Black snapped straight away, riling himself up for another fight.

"Go pop a chill pill, or thirty!" I snarled. Can you overdose on chill pills? Black can be the guinea pig and we'll find out. It would have been an understatement to say we were all a little tense, so much so that all the other baboons had fled the house. I didn't know what Evie was doing, meeting someone obviously, but that sounded oddly work-related.

Not that anyone other then Tasha and I knew this. Who knows what the other three are thinking. I'd probably kill Black if I knew. But I didn't know what was going on with her, I mean, she was off when she came down the stairs. And what on earth was she wearing? There hadn't been any mention of anything like this on her phone call to Daniel. Not that that hadn't raised suspicion among the guys. Damn our werewolf senses to hell.

And I couldn't even warn her that her conversations weren't even private! Thanks to Sam and his stupid-arse alpha order to not tell a soul about us.

"She's a big girl." Emily said, trying to sooth us. "I'm sure she can handle herself."

"That's not what I'm worried about." I grumbled. Evie was in a mood, what if she killed someone? A terrible thing to think of your best friend, I know, but this is Evie we're talking about. Can spies get off murder charges? I had no idea. She never talked to me about that sort of thing. She'd probably kill the guards and break out or something…

We all froze as a car approached and pulled up outside, the engine cut off and I was ready to tackle Black in case he got any bright ideas. Luckily for him though, he stayed put. I heard her footsteps come up the stairs and saw her easily even before she stepped into the light. I knew, without having the alcohol smell invading my nose, that she was drunk.

She stumbled ever so slightly through the threshold and blinked and scowled at the light. When she saw us, she slumped and groaned. "Don't you people _ever_ sleep?" It came across slightly slurred. Brilliant, just what I need right now.

"Where have you been?" Tasha demanded, leaping up from the table and darting around to Evie.

She didn't have her jacket done up like when she had left and the top she was wearing wasn't going to do Black's ever decreasing sanity any good at all. She battered her sister away and hiccuped. "Leave me alone, Tashie, for christ's sake."

"You're drunk." Sam observed, cookie to him.

She gave him the thumbs up. "Indeed-y do I am, thank you for noticing, cousin dearest."

"Come on, Evie." I coaxed gently, starting towards her. "Time for bed."

She pouted and shook her head, her eyes welling up with unshed tears. "Don't wanna, won't sleep."

"I think you will." I said, growling at Black as he shot past me and grabbed her forearms.

"Are you alright?" He asked urgently, giving her a little shake as she blinked at him in confusion. "Don't cry, Evie, please don't cry!"

She sighed and stayed limp in his hold. "I hate that question…" _Hiccup_. "Why does everyone ask…" _Hiccup_. "That question?" She seemed to realise then who had hold of her and she started squirming to get away.

Their imprint wasn't like the other imprints I'd seen. Not that I wasn't thankful, but it sure was confusing not knowing what to expect. She didn't seem drawn to him at all, and every time she did see him, she looked awfully conflicted. I didn't dare ask her about him, if she thought I was in anyway tied up in Tasha and the girls' new plot to get them together, she'd kill me.

"Did someone hurt you?" Black demanded, still torn up about the tears in her eyes-which, shamefully, I'd only just noticed. "Who'd you meet, Evie? Did he hurt you?" He trailed off as he started to shake.

Evie pulled herself away from him and walked, a little unsteadily, towards the kitchen. "He hurt me." She mumbled, sounding broken.

Black only started shaking worse and I saw Sam clench his fists as he tried to gain control of himself. I noticed then that I was shaking to. Which _mongrel_ had _dared_ hurt my girl now?

"When did he hurt you, Evie? How? Who is he?" Black was trying to get the information out of her but she was lost in her own thoughts.

"He hurt me today." She choked out painfully. "And yesterday, and the day before that, and the day before that…He always hurts me…" She started rummaging around in the cupboards.

Day before…? Ah, Adam-enemy fuckwit number one. Did she meet Adam? What the hell was she _thinking_?

"WHO?" Jacob snarled and Sam yelled at him to calm down, then Emily hissed at them both to be quiet so they didn't wake Ben.

"You people are-" _Hiccup._ "-so weird." Evie muttered, still going through cupboards. "Steroid popping loons…freakily weird…Saaaaam?" She whined suddenly, looking up. "Where's the alcohol in this hellhole? No 'fence, Emily, it's very home-y. I just hate the whole-" _Hiccup._ "-thing."

Wow, so she just babbles nonsense when she's drunk? I'd never seen her drunk. Really, I'd never seen her loose her calm exterior anymore then three times, and I've known her her whole life.

"Evie, I think you've had enough," I said carefully, trying again to take her upstairs.

"Am I dead?" She asked, tilting her head to the side.

"No," I breathed, she was starting to scare me. I had never seen her eyes so blank. "No, you're not dead."

"Then I haven't had enough." She stated dryly and went back to rummaging around.

"Evie…sweetheart, is there something you'd like to tell us?" Tasha tried and I nearly growled at her. "You know Sam and I will always be here to help you…"

Evie laughed. One of those dry, empty laughs that makes your skin crawl. She leaned against the bench top and stared at us. "You couldn't help me. No one can help me. Don't you know I'm a-" _Hiccup._ "-lost cause? Loose cannon? Danger to myself and everyone around me?" She sniffed and rubbed at her teary eyes.

"You're not dangerous." Sam said, also coming forward. I knew it was tearing him up that he couldn't connect with Evie. She and Tasha were the only blood family he had left and he honestly did love them.

Evie scoffed. "Sammy, you don't _know_ me. I'm veerrry dangerous, just ask 'round, they'll all tell you how messed up I am."

"Eva, I think you should go lay down." I suggested strongly, before she says something she'll regret.

She shook her head absentmindedly, getting lost in her thoughts again. "I don't want to sleep. When I close my eyes…I can't dream of him again, that day." She gave me a pleading look that melted me. "Please, Lee Lee, don't make me see it again. Don't make me watch..." Her eyes watered up again.

I cringed as she mentioned her nightmares and tensed as the others in the room jumped onto the fact that she _got_ nightmares. They knew _nothing_, they had no right…"I won't…"

"Evie, please tell us what's going on. You're scaring me." Tasha whispered. "Who's this 'he'?"

"You wouldn't…understand even if I told you." She stated dryly, furiously rubbing her eyes. "And I'd shoot you if you started pitying me. You do it…'nough now that it drives me…crazy. I hate pity, hate it, don't 'ave any use for it." She swore under her breath and must have kicked the bench as she winced and swore again. "Where the hell is the booze? I haven't drowned my sorrows 'nough yet."

"I think you've had enough." Jacob said slowly, trying to wrap his head around what she was saying. Trying to figure her out. Good luck.

She looked at him, tilting her head to the side and just stared at him while the room once again fell into silence. "Your gettin' to be a real pain in the arse, you know that?" She muttered, more to herself.

Black deflated like a pin pricked balloon. I felt sorry for him, kind of. I mean, imprinting didn't lie, he and Evie were soul mates whether they or anyone else liked it or not. I felt more for her though. She wasn't ready for a soul mate, she thought she'd found him ages ago, and that turned out just so fantastically.

And imprinting…it'd kill her. She wasn't like the other girls; she didn't want what imprinting gave. She'd hate his need to be with her, to protect her. She'd kill him before a week had gone. And then she'd kill herself.

"And you're really con-confusing." She continued, still in her drunken mumble. Er speech is surprisingly good for being intoxicated. Probably something being a spy taught her. "And did Claire dump a bucket full of glitter on you lately?"

"You think I sparkle?" He choked on the word, hell, we all cringed and shuddered in disgust.

She shrugged. "You've got this…glow. Like those party glow-stick thingys…or a glow worm…" She giggled stupidly then. "You eat worms!"

I snorted on my laughter as Black tinged pink and muttered 'I was little' under his breath.

"Anyway, you're weird." Evie finalised, leaning more heavily against the bench and stifled a yawn.

"I think you should go to bed." Sam advised gently.

She pouted at him. "Don't want the nightmares, Sammy."

"You'll be fine." He assured her, smiling. "Your strong, just order them like you order the guys and they'll run away screaming."

She giggled. "I should kick their butts more of-often."

"You should, and you can start as soon as you wake up, how bout that?" I said encouragingly.

She sighed and finally relented. "Fine, I'll go to bed." She hiccuped again and wandered back around the bench and towards the stairs only to stumbled and fall-directly into Jacob's arms.

His eyes were the size of dinner plates as he picked her up. To him, even being aloud to touch her would be a huge deal, since she hits him any other time. "I think I'll carry you up, before you hurt yourself." He murmured to her. "How's your leg?"

"Whatever, 'nother scare won't matter." She muttered, laying her head on his shoulder sleepily.

Sam gave Jacob a meaningful look as he went and inspected his cousin for further injures. He tired to look at the wound on her leg but the black stockings and boots had disguised it pretty well. "Just put her to bed." He decided with a sigh. "We'll ask her in the morning when she comprehends…" He trailed off, his eyes trained on her shoulder where the sleeve of her top had fallen down to revile part of her…_shit! Her tattoos!_

I darted over and pulled her jacket around her to cover it all up, but he knew now and so did Black, so it would only be a matter of time before the rest knew to. "I'll come with you, go upstairs, now." _'Please don't let him have seen the scars, please oh please oh please! Have some mercy for her, she doesn't need this, let her get better.'_ I prayed silently, to our ancestors, to anyone listening. Thank god I wasn't in wolf form.

Jacob did as he was told easily, not taking his eyes off my sister as he carried her up the stairs and to her room. We entered quietly so we didn't disturb Ben or that demented little dog of hers.

He laid her next to her godson and took off her boots, he reached for her jacket to but I stopped him. Evie sighed contentedly and snuggled into Ben, she was so attached to that kid. Not in the creepy way, not like Quil and Claire either. I knew she couldn't have kids and I knew how much she loved them. I'll kill that son of a bitch who ruined her life. Kill him slowly and painfully and….woah, calm down girl.

I grabbed Black as he dropped a kiss on Evie's forehead and dragged him out of the room and back down the stairs. He waited until we were back with the others before he pulled out of my grip and growled. "What the hell, Leah? The only time I can be close to her and you take me away!"

I stared at him. "She's stone drunk and passed out, there's something wrong with you."

"Alright you two, it's too late for this." Tasha sighed.

"Did you see the tattoo on her shoulder?" Sam said. "I didn't know she had a tattoo…I don't think I know anything about her. What was she going on about? Who hurt her?" His shoulders were tense and his fists were clenched, he was pissed.

I snorted while Tasha answered. "She's got tattoo_s _apparently. On her other arm, there's one of a phoenix, I think. I didn't know she had others, she knows I don't like them. And I think she was talking about Adam Tyler, they were, like, the perfect couple. If it wasn't for you, Jake, I would have said they were soul mates. But they went through a bad break up about seven months ago; she can't have gotten over it."

I rolled my eyes. Tasha didn't know the half of it. Engaged, pregnant, betrayed, broken…'bad break up' just doesn't cover it. Jacob looked even more pained, probably conflicted about killing Adam for dumping her or sad that she'd loved someone other then him. Fool.

"There's something about her…" Sam said, frowning in thought. "Something different…"

Jacob narrowed his eyes at him. "There's nothing wrong with her! She's perfect!"

"She's my baby cousin! Why would I think there was something wrong with her?" Sam snapped back. "I love her to, Jacob. Don't accuse me of downgrading her."

"Would you two take your PMS-ing selves outside if your gonna throw bitch fits every five seconds?" I asked, glaring at them. "You don't know Evie, Evie doesn't know Evie. What chance do you have?"

"You know what she's hiding?" Jacob asked, looking at me with a pleading expression. "Please, Leah! Tell us what's bothering her, let me help her!"

"I won't betray her trust when it takes a lifetime to earn it these days." I said strongly. I would not rat her out, this was her secret to tell, if she chose to.

Sam sighed and rubbed a hand tiredly over his face. "I don't know what to do about her, there's obviously something different. She can hit us and not get hurt, she can beat us in wrestling…"

"When we ran to the beach, she kept up with me…" Jacob added slowly.

"You mean before you stuck both your fat feet in your mouth?" I asked, raising an eyebrow and smirking.

He glared at me. "Yeah, before that, and now she thinks I…glow?"

"Like a glow worm." I added not so helpfully, chuckling when I saw his face.

"I don't…glow, do I?" He asked unsurely, looking down at himself.

"Not that I've noticed." Sam said, his voice tinging with amusement. He turned serious again. "These are traits of werewolves…well, apart from the glowing thing." He smirked.

"But she doesn't have a temperature, she doesn't have the muscle like the rest of us do, she doesn't _smell _like a werewolf." I frowned, if she could tell me she was a spy, wouldn't she have told me she was a wolf to? Wouldn't we have sensed it?

"She doesn't eat like you guys do either." Tasha added.

"She is only half Quileute." Sam pointed out. "And it is the half that carries the genes."

"I just…she would have told me." I said firmly. "I don't think she's a wolf, Sam. Or, not one _yet…_" I winced, surely life had been cruel enough to her without making her a wolf and chaining her to this place. She'd shoot herself for sure.

The boys cringed to, not wanting that fate for her either. "My poor angel…" Jacob muttered, slumping into a chair and lazily picking up a freshly baked muffin. Sam and I looked rather disturbed and Tasha let out a little girly squeal.

Ignoring those idiots I addressed Sam seriously. "You won't be able to keep her here just to see if she'll phase. You know how long that could take! You could shackle her, lock her in a cellar and throw away the key and she'd still escape."

He sighed. "It's to dangerous to let a possible wolf roam freely all over…where ever she'll go after this."

I shook my head. "It'll kill her to keep her here, Sam. She couldn't handle it!"

"Then what do _you _propose we do?" He snapped, irritably.

I glared. "Am I suddenly a crystal ball? I DON'T KNOW! God!"

"Maybe we should just tell her?" Emily suggested.

We all cringed. "That would be…" Sam trailed off.

"A disaster," I deadpanned.

"She'll find out Sam and I kept it from her her whole life…" Tasha said, wringing her hands together. "She'd never speak to me again…"

"And the imprinting…" Jacob added. "She won't like that, will she?" It was more of a statement then a question.

I shook my head. "If you tell her about the imprint, you won't have to worry about _me _killing you. She'd never speak to _any _of us _ever _again."

"We don't tell her, then." Sam decided and sighed. "We'll just have to see where this goes and hope it turns out alright."

I looked towards the stairs as I snatched up a muffin and bit into it. Oh how I hoped so too.

**A/N: Thought I'd mix it up a bit with the different POV. Eva's will be back for next chapter though :) How'd you like it? Let me know!**

**Just a side note-I will be away again next week for work. I leave on Sunday afternoon and probably get home Thursday night. So yeah, I won't have internet there therefore there won't be any updates until next weekend, sorry! Need the money though, story of our lives right? Lol.**

**Thank you for reading, **_**pretty please review!**_

**Love, **

**~Meg x x **


	15. The Hangover

**A/N: Hey guys! Sorry about the wait, again. Had internet trouble and got sick and blah blah blah. Important thing is I finally got it up! (: This chapter feels a bit like just a filler, but we shall see. Happy reading!**

**Love and thanks to **_**SasoLOVE111, brightglo, JellyBeane, DreamingInATeacup, kiki, Happy2BeeMe, TempusSimia, 'Lil Obsessed **_**and**_** RANDOM COOKIE NINJA **_**for your gorgeous reviews (: Thanks so much guys **

**. : Chapter 15: The Hangover : .**

Urgh.

Hangover.

I blinked wearily at the ceiling and cursed the damned marching band and their bloody drums that were stomping around in my head, trying to crack open my skull. What did I tell myself yesterday? Don't get smashed? And what did I do? God, I don't even listen to me now. This must be a record or something.

Then it came rushing back to me and I buried my head into my pillow and groaned. Wayne and his information- I hate that guy. Adam was back in the country, which I already knew, but rumour had it that he was not only avoiding my country, his country, and Austria, but now he'd also managed to piss of the Russians. I don't think I even wanted to know how he'd managed that.

So, why he'd come back here was a little confusing. Unless, which Wayne had unhelpfully suggested, he'd come for my help.

_Me_, help _him_? I don't think so.

The last thing I needed now was a reunion with him. Weren't there enough things for me to deal with at the moment without him causing me more grief? Like, for instance, my new stalker? I knew he'd touched me last night. I didn't really remember much of what I did after my tenth round of vodka shots at the club. But I knew that Black had come in contact with me at some stage. My skin was tingling and felt warm where his hands would have been.

'_Please for the love of all things good and holy in the world, don't let me have slept with him, or kissed him or anything that would encourage him!' _I begged mentally, then winced as the thoughts caused my head to throb even worse.

Urgh, no more thinking.

I realised then that I was alone, sprawled out on my bed, fully dressed. At least that puts the sex problem out the window, thank god. But where were my godson and my dog? I heaved myself up and wobbled slightly before leaning against the wall. Looking down at myself, I decided that a shower and change of clothes were definitely in order.

After deeming myself presentable and not smelling like a walking bar, I went downstairs. I had to roll the sleeves of my sweatshirt up so they weren't covering my hands. It was one I'd stolen from Jay after all. I winced and put a hand to my skull as the noise downstairs hit me full force. Had they always been this _loud_?

"Aunty Evie!" Ben squealed happily as soon as he saw me.

I 'oofed' as he flung himself against my legs and I wobbled a bit but righted myself in time. "Hey, BB, how are you?" My voice sounded hoarse, like I hadn't had a drink of water in a week or so. I picked him up and hugged him.

"Good! Guess what? Jared taught me how to make a sling shot!" Note to self: _Kill Jared_. "And later Jake says we can go to the beach!" He exclaimed, curling his little arms around my neck. Oh, _grrreat_.

"That's great, baby. Let Aunty Evie have a caffeine hit before you run this by me again, okay?" I kissed his forehead lovingly and smiling thankfully at Emily as she handed me a cup of steaming coffee goodness. "Thanks, Emily."

"How's the head?" Leah asked me, with a knowing smile. She knew it was killing me.

"I'm gonna die." I groaned.

Ben tensed in my arms. "What?" He whispered thickly. "You can't! You can't die! Don't go away, Aunty Evie, I-who-who will…"

"Woah, woah, calm down, Benny!" I back peddled quickly. "I'm not going anywhere, okay? Its okay, shh, I'm sorry. I was being silly. I won't leave you." I rocked him back and forth calmingly, mentally smacking myself for upsetting him. He'd had too many adult figures pass without me being stupid.

"So, I hear you've got tats, Eves…" I whipped around to stare at Paul, open mouthed. How had he…oh _shit_, he was grinning cockily. Triple oh shit.

"What exactly did I do last night?" I asked cautiously, putting Ben down and shooing him off to go play with Claire, who was in the lounge room. Things might get ugly.

"Nothing…" Leah assured me. "You were just, well, drunk."

"You don't remember anything?" Sam asked sceptically. Oh dear, that didn't sound reassuring at all.

"No…what'd I say?" I demanded.

Leah stifled a laugh. "Apparently, you think Jacob looks like a glow worm."

I blinked and looked at Black, tilting my head to the side while he blushed and everyone else laughed. "No, I think that was drink talk. His shape is all wrong for a worm."

"That's not what you said." He insisted. "You said I glowed…_like_ a glow worm."

"Man, I must've been really out of it." I muttered, dropping my face in my hands. I thought that Jacob Black glowed? What. The. Hell?

"You were." Tasha added, unhelpfully might I add. "You were giggling and kicking benches and falling into handsome guy's arms…"

I groaned. "Johnny Depp was here? And I don't remember falling into his arms? Damn, I'm never drinking again."

The laughter that followed was not welcomed and I clutched my head and hissed at them to shut up. Then my phone rang, and the noise got worse.

I answered it a little snappily. "_What_?" Okay, so _little_ might have been an understatement…

"_My gosh, Evie, did I wake you or something?" _Came the pretty female voice on the other end. Claudia-Jane, or Claude or CJ, was another of the agents that I frequently worked with. Another of my sisters, I had quiet a few I realised. Maddy, Leah, Tasha, Tams, CJ, Tess, Yas… The last three were younger then me, so I didn't cop the mothering thing from them.

Thankfully, though I did mother them a little…Yas and Tess were still in training but they'd been on short missions with us before, its good experience and preparation. They only choose the ones that they know can handle our lifestyle to continue training.

"CJ, hey, I'm sorry. I'm supporting the _mother_ of all hangovers so…"

"_Aw, girl, you been partying again? You're not in some strangers flat with no idea where you are again, are you?_" But, they did worry too much. "_Do you want me to come get you?"_

"No, unfortunately. I'm at my cousin's kitchen table trying to kill the band in my head via coffee drowning. How are you?" I would've chuckled, but that would've hurt.

She sighed in relief. _"Oh thank god, Jay would chuck a right bitch fit if he heard about you doing that again. So, why are you hung over this time?" _

I groaned and relaxed in the chair, completely ignoring my audience. I was past caring this morning. "Is no part of my life private from you people?"

"_No."_

I rolled my eyes and stuck my tongue out at the chuckling, smirking faces. "Do I really need an excuse to get hung over?"

"_Come on, Evie. When do _we_ ever just do _anything_ without a reason? Your okay right, chicka?" _She was smug; she knew she had a point.

"I'm fine, like I always am. No fuss, no worries, fine. F.I.N.E." I spelt it out, then paused and wondered if I'd spelled it right. I really didn't know where my head was at this morning.

She sighed. "_Alright, if you say so, how's Ben? How's Washington?"_

"Nrgh. Like Washington always is? I swear, whenever I'm in this godforsaken state its got terrible weather. BB is great though, he's playing with my cousin's fiancée's niece at the moment." I stretched to get a better look at the toddlers. "Barbies seems to be the current game."

CJ laughed. "_Oh, Maddy will be thrilled. Imagine, Madison Livingston's son, playing barbies!" _

It was quite comical, now that she mentioned it. Maddy would have a heart attack. "I won't be telling her…"

"_You don't tell her half the things you and Ben get up to; she'd rip you to pieces." _

"She'd have to catch me first." I retorted. "No one can catch me. I'm un-catchable and un-killable. I'm super, remember?"

"_Yeah yeah, there's no point in telling you not to let your power go to your head, it's already up there." _She teased. "_Your head will get so big it'll drop right off your shoulders._"

"Pah, nonsense…well, it won't be dropping off for that reason, but this headache might…"

"_Then stop drinking so much!" _CJ, Leah and Tasha said at the same time.

I scowled. "Is there an echo in here, huh? Smartarses, shut up. Haven't you ever heard of 'no pain, no gain?'"

They scoffed. "And what did you gain from this pain?" Tasha asked, raising one of her delicate eyebrows as she stared at me over her tea cup.

"_Oh, is your sister there_?" CJ asked. "_Tell her I say hi, and that my Mum needs a florist for her wedding in a month._"

I wrinkled my nose. "Is your mother getting married _again_? When did this charming event develop? Tashie, CJ says hi and that her mother needs a florist for another wedding in about a month. What is this, the forth time?"

"_Sixth._" CJ replied dryly as Tash waved, smiled, and nodded her consent. "_I think the only man she _didn't _marry that she got involved with was Dad._"

"Your mother is a cradle snatcher, you know that? Who's this one?" I mouthed a 'thanks' to Tasha. "Your not making me go, are you?"

"_As always, Evie, thank you very much for your support and offering to come and save me from committing suicide before the reception." _She said cheekily and a few of the guys laughed, but this stopped when I kicked Vinnie's shin under the table. "_This one is better looking then the last one. I think his name is Peter…something or other. He's older then Maddy, twenty-nine, I think he is." _

"Oh, well that's better then the last one. What's your Mum now, forty-five?"

"_Forty-seven, so yeah, the age gap is getting smaller._" CJ muttered. Her mother was kinda like mine, rich and flighty. But at least mine didn't have a divorce every six months and a wedding every twelve…or not that I knew of anyway. "_When are you coming home? I'm dying here without you, Tams is off her rocker planning this party. Yas and Tess have their semester finals so their eyeball deep in papers. Jay is doing god-only-knows-what in Aus, Maddy and Dan are off working, and boss has everyone but me, or it seems like it, with their tongues hanging out working."_ She complained.

"Aw, poor baby," I cooed. "I'll be back on Thursday…what's today?"

"_Tuesday," _

"Is it? Wow, anyway, I'll be back then with Ben and Jay in tow so we'll do something then yeah? And I'll be back at work after the party no doubt so we can go back to terrorising the boys and kicking their arses at 'male things'."

She chuckled. "_Sounds good, you know we're doing fashion week right?" _

"Urgh, yes, I know. I'm gonna make Jay come to, so we can whine about it together."

"_No way, girl time, no boys aloud._" She said firmly. _"Your going whether you like it or not. Plus by then, you'll be helping me survive this wedding, so you'll thank me for dragging you away to Paris." _

"Oh, goodie," I'm gonna die.

"_Your not gonna die."_ She laughed. "_You're such a drama queen." _

"I am not! I'm not a drama queen, am I, Leah?" I didn't wait for my best friend to open her mouth. "No, didn't think so. And since when do you read minds? Creepy girl."

She laughed. _"Doesn't take a genius to figure out what you think, babe." _

Black perked up, his eyes lighting up with an idea. It was like watching a cartoon when the light bulb comes on over their heads. "Don't say that, now this idiot thinks he can ask you and he'll get all my secrets."

"_What idiot?_" She asked, confused. Black smiled at me.

"There are lots of idiots here, like, eleven _complete_ fruit cakes. But this is the one that's been acting like a homeless puppy, it's annoying the shizz out of me."

"_Naw, he probably likes you._"

"I don't get why you people always do this 'naww' thing whenever a guy chases after me." I grumbled, raising my eyebrows as Black went all ridged and Sam started choking on his food.

"_You're having this conversation right in the middle of your family, aren't you?" _CJ tisked disapprovingly, probably shaking her head.

"I really don't care this morning." I replied matter-of-factly.

"_Right, of course you don't. Well, we do the 'naww' thing because we think you deserve to be happy, and have someone who loves you." _Urgh, she was being blunt.

I rolled my eyes and huffed. "I don't do the 'happily ever after' thing. It's not in my cards anymore. I've got people who love me, so I don't know what you're complaining about."

"_Not someone who _loves _loves you. Of course _we_ love you, but we love you like a sister. You should have someone who loves you as a lover." _

"I have lots of lovers." I protested. Que Sam's choking again and this time Black joined him, nearly sucking up his spoon.

CJ sighed in annoyance. _"Your being difficult, Eva, you know what I mean. Screwing guys isn't the same as having a lover." _

"Why don't you go get one then?" I glared at anyone that looked at me. I should get up and take this conversation outside, but I was too lazy. "I really wish you guys would stop trying to match make me. I'm happy screwing guys…oh for god's sake you pair! Stop eating if your gonna choke every time I say it! Newsflash: I am not a virgin! My god, my head! Oww!"

"_Stop giving your family nightmares. And stop being such a whinny bitch." _CJ chastised. "_One day you're going to have to realise the truth and _move on_. It is possible you know. What Adam did was…so wrong it flies off the scale. But you can't let it rule the rest of your life…" _

I cringed when she said his name. "Don't go there, Claudia-Jane. Rule number one: We don't talk about _him._ I don't want to know, I don't want to try to fix what can't be fixed. It's over, done with, caput. You can't rewind time, can't undo what's already been done. I don't _want_ a relationship again. I don't want to know their last names before I screw them. I don't want to see them more then once, I don't ever, _ever,_ want to hear them say they love me. I won't allow it. Not today, not tomorrow, not ever. I've accepted it, it's time everyone else does to."

She sighed. "_Evie…"_

"No, CJ, no more. If I get anymore blind dates or set ups, I will kill the poor barsted you're setting me up with. _I don't want it_. Why can't any of you understand that?" I glared at the rest of them. I didn't want it, I _couldn't _have it again. Just couldn't.

"_Alright then, you win. I still think your wrong, though. But if that's the way you feel, then I'll send out a memo." _

"Thank you."

"_I should go try and get more of this paper work done. I'll see you're Thursday, okay? Love you, Eves." _I'd upset her, great. The truth hurts though, everyone knew that.

"I love you to, CJ. See ya soon." I whispered and ended the call, chucking the phone onto the table out of my reach. "If that thing rings again, take it out and run over it." I declared to my deathly silent audience. "Oh, do get _over_ it."

Sam cleared his throat uncomfortably. "Would you tell us what's wrong?"

"Hell no,"

"Just me?"

"As if,"

"Tasha?"

"If I told her I might as well tell everyone, no."

"Leah?"

"No." I won't have them hounding her for the things I've told her.

"Do you speak to _anyone_?" Embry asked softly. "I mean, doesn't keeping everything to yourself just…send you crazy?"

I shrugged. "It's my prerogative, Em. A little more crazy in me won't make much of a difference. Thanks, guys, for caring. But you really are just wasting your time on me." I have to admit it to myself, and I'll never repeat this to anyone else. It's a nice feeling, to know that people do care, that there are people who do love me and won't betray me. I was just learning to keep everyone at a distance, for their safety.

"I don't think you're a waste of time, Evie." Black whispered thickly. "I won't give up on you." _Oh, goodie…_

"Me either." Sam added. "You're my family, and I love you."

"Your part of us now," Emily said, smiling at me fondly. "You'll always have a home here."

Leah reached over and covered my hand with hers and smiled, agreeing, her eyes asking a question about what had me all depressive this time.

"Yeah, welcome to the nut house, Evie." Georgia said, giving me a smile. She was wrapped protectively in Vinnie's arms again. "Once you're in, there's no escaping. Trust me, I've tried." Vinnie scowled and kissed her cheek.

I shook my head in exasperation. Mutt chose this moment to leap up into my lap, turn around in three circles and plop down, curling himself into a ball. I chuckled at him, strange little dog. Sometimes I wondered if he thought he was a cat. "You really aren't going to leave me alone about any of this, are you?" I deadpanned.

They all grinned at me and shook their heads.

I sighed. "You also know that I won't give in, don't you?"

This time they shrugged. "You might get sick of it and give in eventually." Rach piped up. "We can be pretty persuasive."

"Well, I can only wish you luck, cause you'll need tones of it. And it still won't do you any good." I said. If I wouldn't talk after four days of torture in the middle of an Arab desert, then I think I could withstand whatever these guys had to throw at me for the next two days. Speaking of torture…I haven't really looked at me leg today.

I shuffled around in my chair and put my leg up onto Embry's lap. Mutt looked at me in annoyance as I disturbed him, but I ignored his look and tugged up my trackie pants leg to get a look at the wound.

"That must've hurt like hell." Em said as he looked at it.

It was healed almost halfway, there were white lines either side of the stitches where it had closed up. Another scar. Ty was working on something that got rid of scars though, so it might not be there for long. Around the stitches was pink but it wasn't inflamed like the first day and there wasn't any pain.

I nodded. "Yeah, it wasn't exactly pleasant, but I survived, obviously."

"Wasn't it a lot bigger then that before?" Paul asked, as he leaned around Em to get a look to.

I nodded. "I heal pretty quickly, plus the morphine I use is a new kind that accelerates the natural healing process, so that helps, too." I poked it curiously and came to the conclusion that I could take the stitches out now. "Pass me a knife, someone, please?"

"What are you doing?" Black demanded, sounding half panicked.

I rolled my eyes at him. "Taking the stitches out, durh brain, remind me to get dissolvable ones next time."

"Shouldn't you go to a doctor for that?" Kim asked, wincing as Leah handed me a knife.

"Nah, I could just about qualify as a medic myself. Plus, I hate doctors. They annoy the hell out of me. I've been thrown out of a hospital for assaulting one before." They laughed and shook their heads. "Hey, in my defence, it was reflex. He hit a spot and I just…kicked him."

"Why were you in hospital that time?" Tasha frowned, trying to recall the event. I never know if I tell her these things or not.

This one, though, I actually didn't have to lie about. "Oh it was over a year ago I think. It was night and I went downstairs for something with all the lights off. Benny must have been staying with me 'cause I slipped on one of his toys on the stairs and fell…"

"Oh!" She said, remembering. I must have told her. "Didn't you land on a coffee table or something?"

"Yeah, a _glass_ coffee table, I had a shard stuck in the top of my thigh and Dan, of course, completely freaked out and dragged me to the closest hospital to get it out." I slit the first stitch and pulled it out. "The doctor was inspecting it and must've just triggered a nerve in my leg. Anyway, I kicked him and he was flung back into one of those tables with all their instruments on it. He landed funny, and, well, broke his arm."

"You're incredible." Tash chuckled. "Only you could go to a hospital with an injury, kick a doctor and break his arm."

I snickered. "Well, he should've been more careful. It took Danny all night to convince him not to sue me." I did another stitch, making sure that the wound was holding fine without them. "At least he was in the right place to break his arm."

"Very comforting for him, I'm sure." Rachel laughed. "You're always getting hurt, every time I talk to Tash she's got another story about you getting injured."

"It's a talent." I grinned proudly.

"It shouldn't be…" Black grumbled and Sam nodded in agreement.

"Proves she's tough," Leah jumped in quickly, grinning at me.

"Damn straight." I laughed.

"Eew!" A new voice said, we looked up at the missing four coming through the door. Seth, Collin, Brady and Kevin were wrinkling their noses. "Why are you cutting up your leg?" Collin asked, swiping muffins off the table.

I snorted. "Don't be such a girl. There isn't even any blood, sooks."

"Am not!" Brady protested. "Just cause Collin is doesn't mean the rest of us are! It's not contagious."

"You hope." I pointed out, grinning at him. "If I don't see you four in school tomorrow, I swear I will personally drag each and everyone of you to your desks and chain you there. Then come back and move you from class to class and I'll be checking that you've actually done work to."

"What about the rest of them?" Kevin groaned. "Why do you hate us all of a sudden?"

"The rest are old farts, there's no hope for them. There is however hope for you, and I won't have it slipping away." I said, continuing with my stitches. "Sethy, I'll make it a rule that you have to get a good report card before I let you come to my place."

He groaned and the rest went into jealous mode. "How come _he_ gets to go to your place?" Black. "Yeah, where's our invite?" Quil. "I'm not on the floor!" Kev. "You fools aren't coming!" Leah. "Why not?" Max. "What would be the point in going away if you came to?" Leah.

I rolled my eyes and took out the last stitch. "My place isn't big enough to house all of you. Why the hell would I want to see you more then necessary anyway?"

"You're horrible." Vinnie pouted, then ducked at Black threw a fork at his head. Georgie glared at him as it nearly got her, this made Vinnie growl, like actually _growl_, at Black.

"Thank you for noticing, Vincent." I said, not bothering to acknowledge Black. I rolled my leg to get a good look at it on every angle possible before rolling the pants leg back down and removing it from Embry's lap. "I practice."

"Aunty Evie!" Benny's sing-song voice echoed from the lounge.

Without looking up from my coffee cup I answered. "What do you want, BB?"

"Come watch a movie with us!" He called.

"Yeah! We're watching Beauty and the Beast!" Claire added and I smiled softly.

"Are not!" Ben protested. "That's a girl movie!"

"Silence! Compromise, my dears," I ordered, I couldn't take small children bickering with this headache. They have the ability to reach sonic volumes. "Why don't we watch Beauty and the Beast _then _what you want to watch, BB? Or find one you both like so we can do something else after, sound fair?" I rose from my seat and went into the lounge room, leaning against the door to watch the pair think about this.

Finally Benny nodded, although reluctantly. "Alright, but we're not watching Disney Princesses."

Claire huffed. "Then what?"

"Let's have a look, shall we?" I sat down in front of the dvd stack and started sorting through it. Both the kids crawled over to sit either side of me and watch. "Okay, what about the Lion King? Or Monster's Inc, Bug's Life, Finding Nemo, Toy Story, Antz, Robin Hood? There's lots."

"Monster's Inc!" Benny said immediately.

"No, Finding Nemo!" Claire protested.

"Ah! Decide nicely or I'll pick." I threatened. Benny knew how to share, and I'm sure Claire did to.

They had a mini stare off before Ben sighed and, very diplomatically, suggested. "What about The Lion King?"

Claire thought about it. "That's the one about the bad uncle, isn't it?"

I smiled and nodded. "Sure is, what do you say, Claire?"

She nodded slowly. "Okay, we can watch that one."

I chuckled and took out that dvd. "That wasn't hard, was it?"

"What can we do after? Can we go see the beach?" Ben asked excitedly.

"Noooo! We have to make cookies!" Claire returned.

I shot them both a warning look and they hushed. "How long are you here for, Claire?"

"Till tomorrow afternoon," She replied seriously. She was such a funny little thing, bossy and cute. Her teenage years would be a joy.

"Then we have plenty of time to go to the beach _and_ make cookies." I said, getting up and collecting the right remote, then went to one of the bigger lounges. Quil and Black had both migrated to the living room and were watching us with amusement.

I flopped into the comfy lounge and made room for Ben to climb up next to me. Claire surprised me when she got up and demanded a place next to me to. "You promise?" She asked, eyeing my sceptically.

I nodded and smiled at her. "I promise, sweetheart. Cross my heart."

She smiled and snuggled into my stomach next to Ben. "Okay then,"

We fell into comfortable silence as the movie started. I made a mental note to tease the two guys about willingly watching a little kid's movie later. Not that I could really blame them, Walt Disney was awesome.

**A/N: So, how was that one? I've had little kids around me recently so, yeah, that's where all the Claire-Ben interaction came from lol. That one was a little more dramatic then I had thought it'd be, too. But that's the way it came out. **

**I hope you enjoyed reading it, I'd love to hear what you thought of it, so please review!**

**~Meg xx**


	16. Daddy's Little Girl

**A/N: Evening lovelies c: I promised myself I'd have the next chapter up by my birthday, and I've actually kept it! :D Enjoy! Please leave a review, can I bribe you with the 'its-my-birthday' excuse? ^^ Hehe. **

**HUGE thanks to **_**Mythical Words, TempusSimia, SasoLOVE111, 'Lil Obsessed, RANDOM COOKIE NINJA, DreamingInATeacup, Happy2BeeMe, kikikiki **_**and **_**Blitz-gurl-42**_** for their lovely reviews. Your feedback makes it worth every hurdle :).**

**. : Daddy's Little Girl : .**

I love these kids.

And I think the boys were a bit jealous, which just made me roll my eyes. Please don't tell me Quil had a thing for me now, too? We'd just witnessed the argument between Simba and Nala after their big reunion when Claire looked up at me with worried eyes.

"They make up, right?" She whispered.

I chuckled softly, trying not to distract the others from the movie. "Haven't you seen this one before, Claire? Of course they do, honey."

"How do you know?"

"Every movie ends happily." Pretty much, she won't be watching horror movies for a while yet.

"What about out of the movies?" She whispered persistently. "Does everyone live happily ever after?"

I paused. "Well…nearly everyone does, sweetheart."

"Not everyone?" She looked troubled.

"I don't know _everyone_, so I can't really say." I smiled, trying to put her mind at ease. "You've got nothing to worry about, Claire. You'll be just fine."

"How do you know?" She demanded.

"I know everything, honey." I grinned.

She was silent for a while, but before long she'd thought of more questions. "Do you believe in love?"

I nodded and replied with no hesitation. "Yes."

"Do you love someone?" She continued.

Again I nodded, smiling softly. "I love lots of people."

"Who?"

"Claire-Bear…" Quill whispered warningly.

I waved him off. "Leave her alone, Quilly, she's fine." I could never be mad at a child. I had trouble denying them anything. "Who…well, I love Benny, and my sisters and brothers."

"I thought only Tashie was your sister?" She queried, glaring at Ben as he made an annoyed noise at us talking.

I chuckled and starting running my fingers through his soft curls to calm him. "I've found that you don't really need to be related by blood to be family, CB. I've got lots of brothers and sisters."

"C-B?" She cocked her head to the side, looking at me questioningly.

"Sure," I grinned. "C-B-Claire Bear, Benny's been BB since the first day I saw him. Hey, Benny Baby?" He nodded and sighed, probably getting sleepy.

"I like it," She concluded. "How many brothers and sisters do you have?"

Did this kid ever run out of questions? She reminded me of Tasha when we were little, Tash always had a mile-long list of questions to bombard anyone and everyone with. "There's Tasha, of course, Leah, Maddy-she's BB's Mummy, Tammy, CJ, Tess, Yas, Jay, Seth, Tyler, Danny…there's lots, sweetheart." There were all my school sisters to, of course. But we were more separated now that we'd graduated.

"W-what about Uncle Sam?"

Oh, Sam, right. I hesitated, and then sighed. "Sure, Sammy to, though he is royally annoying." The boys chuckled.

"I've got sisters," Claire stated. "And Quil's like my big brother." She looked down nervously for a moment and when she looked up the confidence that had been so strong before had faltered a little. "C-can I have a big _big _sister, too?"

I blinked. How long had I known this child for? But she was adorable, and I loved her character, and I couldn't possibly say no to that little face…I smiled at her. "Of course, honey."

She beamed. "Yay! We can have sleepovers, and make cookies, and play dress ups-Quil doesn't like dress ups-and make overs, he doesn't like them either…"

I laughed. "Boys just don't know what's good for them, do they?" I smirked at Quil and he glared at me.

She shook her head. "Their silly,"

Oh, I was totally going to corrupt this girl. I've always wanted mini me's, except…with a few exceptions of course. I'd never curse anyone with my life or personality. "They are, CB, trust me. Well, most of them anyway, but it seems that their born that way."

She laid her head back on my hip and stared at the screen for a moment before diverting her eyes to my face again. "How do you know when you love someone?"

"Uhh…well, honey, you really don't have to worry about this sort of thing yet. A child's love is unlimited; you love new people all the time. But there will always be people who love you, your parents, your siblings, other family members. You've really got nothing to worry about, sweetheart."

"My friend at day care says she's gettin' married to a boy there. I just don't think she loves him, 'cause he really likes Ben 10, and she hates Ben 10. Mummy says it won't work out and that it's illegal." She said seriously.

I nearly laughed. "Your Mummy's right, your friend won't be marrying anyone-let alone the Ben 10 boy-anytime soon. Their too young to understand a love like that, there's nothing for you to worry about."

"How do you know when you love someone and you want to marry them? How old do you have to be? I have to tell Lizzy on Friday that she's _bonkers_."

Oh, she's just adorable this one. A word like bonkers was so cute coming from her, I wonder where she'd heard it. "Um…maybe you should ask Emily, I'm not the best person to ask about this. Maybe Sue, or your Mummy will be better…"

"But you're older, and you said you knew everything." She accused. Oh boy, she was smart to.

"Uhh…" I tucked a stray strand of hair behind my ear and bit my lip. "Well, when you love someone, love them enough to want to spend the rest of your life by their side. You just…know. You'd, jump in front of a bullet for them. You'd go to the end of the earth for them; you'd do _anything _to make them happy…_anything_ to keep them safe. The thought of not being with them is worse then weeks of torture. You just, know." I smiled softly. "When the time comes when you're old enough, when you're ready. You'll know beyond a doubt."

She beamed. "I knew you were the bestest person to ask, thanks big sis."

I smiled and brushed her fringe across her forehead. "It's alright, honey, anytime."

We fell back into silence and finished watching the movie. When it ended, both toddlers were asleep. Quil collected Claire with a smile at me and the newfound movement of my legs aloud me to get up to. I scooped up Benny and cradled him to my chest, placing a kiss to his little forehead as he sighed and curled into me further.

"That look suits you."

I looked up at Jacob and frowned, realising that we were suddenly the only ones in the room. Apart from BB but he was miles and miles away. This might also explain why Black was whispering. "What look?"

He nodded towards Ben. "Holding him, you look like you were born to do it. You'll be an amazing mother, Evie."

My chest constricted and there was a loud shattering sound from the kitchen and a long string of words that really showed Leah's vivid vocabulary. I was impressed and Black looked really confused. "What'd I do wrong now?" He groaned, looking to the ceiling as Leah stormed into the room, grabbed him by the throat-no, I'm not kidding-and dragged him outside.

"Well," I mused, wandering back into the kitchen and joining all the other confused onlookers. "That was interesting."

"What's got her knickers in a twist?" Max queried.

I raised an eyebrow and rocked BB. "One: I wouldn't repeat that anywhere where she might hear you, I sure as hell won't be saving your arse. And two: I have no idea." Truth and a lie, not to bad.

He nodded and looked to Jared. "Ten bucks says Jake'll come out clean."

I snorted. "Are you mad? Didn't you see her face? Haven't you heard the saying 'Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned'? That, my poor ignorant friend, is one pissed off woman, and that is worse."

Jared grinned. "Ten on Leah, you're on, man."

"Couldn't you have said that before I made the bet?" Max hissed at me.

I smiled innocently. "You should have known."

"He's such an ignorant barsted!" Leah's angry voice echoed through the house not long after I'd put Ben to bed. I looked up at her from the patty papers Claire was instructing me to fill and smirked in amusement at my best friend. "I tell him to keep his mouth shut, and what does he do? He'll be the death of you! I hate him!"

I scoffed. "Honey, this is why I don't speak to my mother. But I assure you that it'll take more then Jacob Black to kill me."

"Still in the dark here!" Quil chortled.

"And you're staying there." I replied in a sing-song voice. "Seriously, Lee-Lee, calm down. You know I hate breaking into jails; it's such a pain in the arse to clean up the mess with the feds afterwards. Claire, I hope you're not listening to my language, Ben is that used to it now that I forget to be careful around kids."

My phone started vibrating wildly on the table, turning all attentions to it. It was a text; otherwise it would have been blaring Nickelback's 'Savin' Me' at an ungodly level. I frowned at it, hesitating to go and see who it was and what they wanted.

Tasha fixed that problem for me though as she picked it up and read out who it was from. "Someone called Wayne…?"

My heart beat a little faster. "What does that idiot want?" I muttered to myself, wiping my floury hands on my butt, leaving white hand prints there, and extended my slightly shaking hand for the device. She handed it to me cautiously, unsure of my reaction. I opened the message and read it slowly.

"_Camera's caught him in a New York airport-arriving. Your boy's coming for you, sweet cheeks." _He'd attached a copy of Adam's photo, waiting at the baggage collection in what I recognised as the John F. Kennedy airport. Yeah, I can tell the airports apart by a sketchy security camera capture. Spy.

"_Shit!_" I hissed softly. "Shit, shit, shit, _shit!_"

"Something…wrong?" Leah asked, trying to hide her amusement at me, but it disappeared when I looked her in the eye.

"No." I lied, half for everyone else's sake and half for mine. I'm not at home, but it won't take Adam long to figure that out. I don't know if he'll be able to find me here, but he will catch up to me some time. If he is here for me, that is. I texted Wayne back. '**When was this taken?' **

It didn't take him long to reply. '_Two hours ago. Times a tickin', beautiful.' _

_F*&k. _He'd know by now that I wasn't there. What to do, what to do? Crap.

"Sissy?" Claire's soft voice broke my concentration and I looked down at her questioningly. "Are you okay?"

I forced a smile. "Fine, CB, just fine. Excuse me, one moment. Quil will help you cut out the cookies." I kissed the side of her head and smeared a line of flour across her cheek, making her squeal and laugh.

"Evie?" Tasha called after me as I slipped from the kitchen and practically ran out of the house. As soon as my bare feet connected with the ground I broke into a sprint to get as far away as possible. Away from where they'd hear me, since they had the best hearing of anyone I'd ever met without the help of electronic devices.

When I was sure I was half lost in the endless supply of trees and I hadn't been followed I rang Tams. She answered after the third ring.

"_Hello?" _

"Tammy, hey, it's Evie."

"_Evie, oh sweetheart what's wrong? Why are you gasping, are you alright?" _She asked worriedly.

"Um, I'm…no, not okay, no." No point in lying to her, Tams had a spy-enhanced-mother's seventh sense when it came to us girls. "Look, can you do me a favour and see if anyone has called asking for me? Or about me, the call would have come in this morning."

"_What's going on, Eva?"_ She asked firmly, tapping away at her computer to check the calls that had come in. All calls first went to the cover office for _Bridge & Wilson Industries _and where then patched through if they proved spy related. We'd all changed our personal numbers after Adam had pulled his stunt, so he would have had to have called the main office to find out if I was in or not.

"It's complicated and I haven't figured it out yet." I whispered, looking around me for signs that anyone had come after me. "I just need to know."

She sighed. _"Okay…yes, there was a caller-unknown-ring this morning at nine forty-three asking for you. There was no message left or the nature of the call. It was traced to…a public phone three streets from John F. Kennedy Airport. Now, what's happening?" _

"I can't say right now, I don't know where I'm at with it. I dunno what to do."

"_If you tell me I might be able to help."_ She offered softly.

I shook my head even though she couldn't see me. "No, I'm sorry, Tams. I can't risk anyone else finding out yet. I gotta have this one."

"_Call me as soon as you're ready, and if you need anything else. Don't go this alone, honey. We're here to help." _

"I will, thank you."

"_Good luck, Agent Hanson. Check in in twenty-four hours." _

"Will do, cya, Tams." I flipped the phone shut and ran a hand through my hair. What do I do? It wasn't like me to run. I just wasn't programmed that way. The fight and flight response was usually stuck in fight mode, unless you were Jacob Black of course, but that's off topic.

Pushing away a tree branch I found myself in a clearing, overgrown and abandoned, but not forgotten. The paint of the house was well faded and chipping, but the structure was still strong. For a moment everything else blew away. No Adam, no Jacob, no Sam, no Tasha…no other thoughts plaguing my mind. No problems, just…peace.

The veranda was splintering and there weren't any chairs or tables on it like there used to be. I placed my hand on the rails and felt the roughness of it under my fingers. I slowly ascended the three steps that creaked under my weight. The door and the windows were all shut and the curtains blocked the view to the inside.

~o~o~

"_Tashie, come back!" The little child wailed after her sister as the older girl ran down the stairs, the small mud boots clutched in her hands. "Mummy said I can't go outside wivout my shooeesss!" _

_The older girl laughed. "You shouldn't be outside after it rains anyways, you always get dirty." _

"_Do not!"_

"_Do to!"_

_~o~o~_

I smiled softly. Tasha has always mothered me, though she was always a lot meaner about it then. Tentatively I opened the door and stepped inside, closing it behind me and was relieved of the chilly La Push winds. Inside was dark and smelt musty and unused, which was still baffling to me.

Walking down the short hallway I entered into what I remembered was the lounge room. Crossing to the window, I pulled back the equally faded dark maroon curtain and let light flood the room. There was still furniture, but everything was covered in white sheets. There was dust covering the mantel over the fire place and I could see the particles floating in the sunlight.

I ran my hand over the material along the back of the lounge and eyed the white blob in the corner that I knew was the piano. My Dad loved that thing, and he played so beautifully. I could remember sitting next to him as he played, watching his tanned fingers glide over the keys.

I wandered out of the lounge room, stuck my head into the kitchen on the way to the stairs. It was in the same state as the lounge. I could picture Dad standing over the stove, cooking pancakes and making silly faces at us as we sat at the table. My Mum never cooked, I never remembered seeing her doing anything involving house work. She did garden though. I remember her kneeling out in the yard, planting flowers of every colour…

I started climbing the stairs, pausing when they creaked to. I jumped to the top one-like I used to, and walked down the hall. Its walls were bare when they used to be lined with family photos. Tasha had them, no doubt. I passed the first door on the left, it had been hers.

There was another door opposite Tasha's on the right and one at the end of the short hall. The one at the end was the bathroom and the one on the right, was mine. I stood before the familiar white door, my hand hovering over the handle as my eyes lingered on the wooden carving hanging on the front.

Something else Daddy had done. I tilted my head and studied it more closely and realised that it was the same as the boy's tattoos. Odd. I'll have to ask Sam or Billy or someone what it meant. Turning the knob I pushed the door open, it creaked to.

The single bed frame was bare; the mattress was leaning up against the wall beside it. Sheets covered the furniture, a bedside table, a duchess, a bookcase…there were boxes stacked neatly in the far corner, filled with what used to cover all available surfaces, everything that I hadn't taken with me to New York.

I sat on the edge of the wooden bed and pulled the closest box to me, prying open the well taped top. There were books packed in neatly and tissue paper-wrapped rectangles lay on top. I reached in and picked one up, unwrapping it from its protective casing and tilted my head to the side to study the photo frame.

The picture was a family one that I didn't remember existed until now. All four of us, gathered together, smiling. I'd say I was about three and was snuggled into my mother's lap, smiling timidly at the photographer. Tasha was on Dad's lap and she was grinning toothlessly at the camera, happy as always to have her picture taken. Even Mum and Dad looked happy. They were sitting next to each other, smiling. Dad even had an arm around Mum's shoulders.

I set the picture down gently and took up the next one. This one was of me and Tasha, covered head to toe in mud. Chuckling, I put it aside too and grabbed the last one. It was of me and Dad. I must have been standing on his lap because our heads were almost level as I hugged him around the neck. I looked like I was laughing and Dad was grinning at whoever had the camera. I look a fair bit like him, really. More so then I had ever noticed before.

I didn't bother going through the rest of the box, it was just children's books anyway, and went on to the next one. Resting on top of yet more books, I must've been a lot more into them then I remembered, was a brown package tied up with a velvet blue bow.

Frowning, I picked it up. It was as pristine as if it had just been wrapped, but it must have been done years ago. Tentatively I undid the bow and opened it. Out of the paper slid a white envelope with my name on it-written in what I vaguely recall as Dad's handwriting. An old, leather bound book with _Journal _marked into it in faded gold letters and a necklace lay inside. It was a plaited black leather cord with forest green and stormy blue beads either side of a feather pendant, carved from some type of black stone.

It was beautiful.

Deciding that the envelope was the best place to start, I opened it and pulled out the letter and began to read.

_My Dearest Eva, _

_I am probably gone if you are reading this. These are my final gifts to you. I hope they will help you understand your world better. Every family has its secrets, baby girl. Ours just has more then the normal quota. It's not to be feared, though. Secrets only destroy if you let them. _

_The story has been in this family, this tribe, for generations, but this is the first time it's really been written down. _

_The necklace, I made for you. You're special, sweetheart, never let anyone tell you different. There's something in you, I see it, your mother sees it, and your grandmother saw it. Let it shine, honey, never be afraid of it. Stretch up and you can fly. _

_I know you were scared to come back to this house, I know your angry with me that I didn't fight for you and your sister more then what I did. Don't ever think that I blame you, or that I don't love you both. You're my world, Evie. My beautiful baby girl. I just knew that it would be better for you if you were with your mother. _

_I didn't want you and Tasha to see me while I was sick, I didn't want you to remember me that way. I hope you have come back here, to La Push. It may not always be your home, but it will always be apart of you, and you will always have a home here. _

_I'm sorry I won't be here to watch you grow up. Succeed in everything you do, fall in love, and have kids of your own. Always remember that I'm so proud of you, Evie. And that I love you, in this life and the next, and I always will. Open your heart- don't let the 'impossible' frighten you off. I believe in you. _

_Good luck, kiddo, you've got it in the bag. _

_Give your sister a hug and kiss for me, and tell her that I love her. Say hi to your Mum, I know she'll raise you both well. You'll be a beautiful, talented, amazing young woman, Eva. I know you'll make it. _

_Love, forever and always, _

_Dad _

I sniffed and wiped my eyes. "I love you too, Daddy." I whispered softly, carefully refolding the letter and placing it back in its envelope. I ran my fingers over the stone feather before fastening it around my neck. I fingered the book, but decided to look at it later. There was probably a search party being organised back at Sam's and I didn't want to be away when Ben woke up.

I put everything back where I'd found it and slowly left the house, making sure each door and each curtain was closed properly before I started the walk back. I felt strange, different, _guilty_, that I couldn't do what Dad wanted me to do. But lighter somehow, the air was that little bit fresher, the day that little bit brighter. I wish he was still here, so I could ask him what to do. He'd know.

I chewed my lip in thought. Maybe I should just bite the bullet and talk to Leah. I knew what she'd say though. '_I'll kill him.'_ That, although an appealing thought, was probably a tad closed minded. So maybe not Leah, but I had the persistent feeling to ask someone.

Maddy, I couldn't reach, but she'd be biased to. And so would every other person I trusted, they hated Adam almost as much as I did, but they would be less conflicted about killing him. And I didn't really want to start a hunt just yet. So who?

Tasha? Oh hell no. Aunty Sue? No, I couldn't burden her with that. Emily? No, she had enough problems with a house full of delinquents. One of the boys? Ha, now I'm just being ridicules.

I swallowed and paused as the little house came into view. Someone like Dad…I can't believe I've gotten desperate enough to do this. This would all probably blow up in my face, but I was going to go mad trying to figure the first part out on my own. I was more desperate then I thought, which is really sad.

Sam.

**A/N: I'm a little dubious about the first half, but I'm pretty pleased with the ending. But it's about what you think hey? Please review and lemme know! **

**Now I'm off to have cake, night! :D**

**~Meg xx**


	17. Hints of the Truth

**A/N: Hey guys, how ya's going? Been a bit busy the last few days getting ready for my little sister's birthday. I've only recently realised how much I've spoilt her :/. Drat. Lol. **

**Thank you so very very much to **_**DreamingInATeacup, rae-rae89, SasoLOVE111, 'Lil Obsessed, RANDOM COOKIE NINJA, brightglo, AppoloniaAstria, Happy2BeeMe, kiki, TempusSimia **_**and **_**JellyBeane **_**for all the awesome reviews! And we've reached a 100! Thank you so much guys for your support, it means heaps to me that you're enjoying the story, and I hope I don't disappoint you with it. **

_**NOTE!: this**_** chapter **_**isn't **_**going to go like most of you are thinking it will (just a fair warning, so please don't yell at me!). I didn't imagine Evie to give out her most precious secret to anyone **_**quite **_**so easily…so…yeah. It happened differently then what the last chapter suggested. I'm **_**really sorry**_**, but this is just how it came out.**

**I hope you enjoy it anyway, (and don't hate me!) and be assured that everything will come out eventually c:**

**. : Chapter 17: Hints of the Truth : .**

Insane insane _insane_.

I've finally lost the last tiny shred of sanity. I knew it'd happen eventually, but I'm not nineteen yet. I had expected it to last a little longer.

I crept around the back and entered my room via the tree outside my window. Ben was still sleeping soundly, splayed out across my bed. I tugged the blanket up around him and kissed his forehead. Then I set the still unopened book and letter on the bedside table and went downstairs.

"Oh, thank god!" Tasha breathed out in relief when she saw me. Then she frowned. "How'd you get inside?"

I rolled my eyes. "Seriously, you've gotta stop freaking out when I leave. And for your information, I came in via my window. Hey, Sam?"

My cousin looked a little surprised at me addressing him. He still wasn't quite used to me being nice yet apparently. "Yeah?"

"Would you, um, come for a walk with me?"

"A walk?" He and Black asked at the same time.

"But you just went for a walk." The younger of the two complained.

I ignored Black. "Yeah, I wanna talk to you. In private."

Sam nodded and stood. "Okay." He kissed Emily as he passed her and followed me out the door. "What's this about, Evie?" He asked as we headed towards the trees.

"I need advise on something, but I was told by a friend in confidence, and I don't know what to do. I don't want the others to know." I said as we wandered leisurely down a well worn path.

"Why me? I thought you would have gone to Leah or someone like that."

"Normally, yes, but not this time. I know what she'll say about this and it's not all that helpful. Plus she knows who it's about, and that makes her biased, where as you don't, so therefore you're the most logical person to ask." I explained.

He chuckled. "Sounds serious, what's wrong."

I took a breath and twisted my fingers together nervously. "You promise you won't tell _anyone _else?"

He watched me carefully. "…Alright."

"You have to promise me, Sam. I'm not supposed to tell anyone, but I don't know how to help my friend." I said firmly.

"Ah, so this is about your, uh, _friend_?" He raised an eyebrow questioningly.

I know, it's _the_ lamest lame excuse and has been used a million times before, but…we already know I'm desperate. Believe me, I recognise the all time low.

"Yes." I said calmly. I was the best liar I knew, and I knew quite a lot of liars. I had this.

He nodded slowly, still not entirely convinced. "Alright, I promise I won't tell anyone. What is it?"

'_Thanks for humouring me.'_ I thought dryly. "Okay, well it's sorta hard to explain and very complicated. So, just bare with me okay?"

He nodded again, smiling at me in reassurance. "We've got time."

'_Time. Right, sure _you_ do, but _I_ might not.'_ Focus, damnit!

"Okay…um, okay. Where the hell do I start?" I asked myself, groaning internally. Maybe I should just forget about it and figure it out my damn self. It's not like I _couldn't_ do it. Wow, being back here was really turning me into a right pansy.

My cousin sighed and put a hand on my arm, pulling me down to sit next to him on a log. "Evie, calm down, it's me. You can tell me anything, alright? Just…start at the beginning and it'll be fine." He wrapped an arm around my shoulders and squeezed, looking down at me encouragingly.

I breathed out and concentrated on bringing my heart rate back to normal and started slowly. "The beginning, well, it's basically like this. My friend met this guy and they fell in love. He was nice and seemed like one of the few that are worth your time of day and we all liked him. Then after about seven months, he proposed and she said yes. Then not long after that, they found out she was pregnant…"

"He didn't take the news well?" Sam put in.

"_No_! No, he took it more then well. He was ecstatic, over the moon. They both were. I've never seen two people so happy." I was quoting Tams there, but I had to stick to the lie.

He couldn't know it was me. Just _couldn't_. I really don't think I could handle all these people, my past, knowing how rightfully fucked up my present is.

Sam nodded and motioned for me to continue.

"Then…it all went bad. There was a…an accident, and he literally caused it, my friend got injured…and the baby died. He disappeared, haven't heard a word from him in ages, but now I know he's back in the country and he's probably looking for my friend. And I don't know what to do." I finished, fixing him with my best confused-scared look. It wasn't that hard to fake.

"Does your friend know he's back?" Sam asked.

I shook my head. Change the story as much as possible, make it a lie with the hint of the truth, they are the easiest lies to believe. "No, she doesn't know. I don't know whether I should tell her or not." I looked at him imploringly. "What would you do, if it was you? If the person you love, the other parent to your child, killed it, disappeared and then came back?"

He frowned deeply, obviously not liking the thought. Hell, join the club. "I…don't know. I'd be angry and sad. I don't know how I'd handle it. This is the person you love…_does_ she still love him?"

I opened my mouth then closed it and shrugged. "No, for the most part. I think. He hurt so many people. Then just up and left her when she _needed_ him, to explain, and be with her while she recovered. But…I'm not sure if there's still a little part of her that does love him still. I mean, she loved him enough to freaking say yes to marriage and try to have a baby with him. She's smart. I doubt she would have done any of it unless she did love him."

Sam nodded as he processed this. "This is quite the question, Eves."

"I know." I groaned. "I want to help her, but I don't know if I should beat the crap out of him before he finds her. Or, take him to her, so she can beat the crap out of him…or something like that. Urgh, I don't _know_!"

Sam chuckled. "What if you spoke to him first? Get him to explain himself before you beat him up, or let him near your friend."

'_Let Adam explain…_' "What if what he says makes it all worse?" I pointed out, going back to pulling on my fingers. "What if he says that he never loved her at all, and the whole thing was this huge lie? Or what if he doesn't know what he's done and it was all an accident?"

"You said he was the cause of it, wouldn't he have stuck around if it was an accident?" Hmm, Sammy had a point. If it was all just a mistake, then why run?

"That…makes sense to." I sighed. "I don't know how I want it to turn out. I mean, on one side I want it to all have been a mistake and have some plausible explanation. But…"

"Could you forgive him?" Sam asked gently. "Could your friend forgive him for abandoning her when she needed him? For killing their child?"

Could I forgive him? If he told me it was all wrong, and that he was sorry and the guilt killed him every day? "But why'd he run?"

This time Sam didn't have an answer straight away and after some thought he said tentatively. "Maybe he couldn't stay, maybe there's something else to the story?"

I frowned. What '_something else'_ could Adam have had? He took the information and defected. Was he a double agent all along? Or was it something else? What if he'd been bought? I shuddered at the thought. Being _bought_ was worse then being a double agent. It was like the ultimate betrayal of the spy world, _on top_ of his betrayal to me.

"He should have found a way to be with her. If he really loved her, wouldn't he have found some way to be there when she needed him the most?"

"…Yes, but we don't know what circumstances he was in. I suggest you find out the full story and then decide. I know if Emily needed me, I'd be with her no matter what stood in my way."

I smiled at him teasingly, trying to ignore my new inner turmoil. "Not everyone is as 'white knight' minded as you are, Sammy."

"I think that's '_russet_ knight.'" He corrected with a grin, wrapping an arm around my shoulders and rubbing my arm. The heat from his skin burned through the material of my clothes easily.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever." I rolled my eyes then laid my head on his huge shoulder with a sigh. "I wish it didn't have to be so hard."

I stiffened a little when he kissed the top of my head, like Dad used to do. I know it sounds strange, but being in the arms of a man I'm related to hasn't happened for a long time. The male figure that's normally present in every girls life has been absent in mine, and now Sam was obviously trying to refill it. I wasn't used to it. The closer they all got the more tense I became.

And they were getting closer. It was undeniable.

"I wish so to, Eves." He said softly. "It'll be okay though."

"How do you know?" I teased. "I can't see your crystal ball anywhere."

"I left it at home." He replied easily. "Can't you just trust me?"

"…I suppose so." I knew, without looking, that his face had just lit up like a Christmas tree overloaded with lights in a dark room. I rolled my eyes at how easy it was to please these people. A smile, a small, half-joking sentence made them as happy as pigs in mud. And I had no idea if this was a bad thing or not.

"C'mon, Evie," He coaxed gently, getting us both to our feet with little effort and began leading me back. "Let's get you home and get some breakfast into you."

"Are you saying I'm to skinny?"

"No!" Ha, men, it's so easy to make them think they've entered dangerous territory. It's so fun…yeah, I'm a bitch. Anyway. "There's nothing wrong with you. Your beautiful, little cousin. I'm just saying that everyone should eat breakfast. It's…"

"The most important meal of the day. Yes, I _know_, thank you, _Mother_." I grinned up at him teasingly. "I was pulling your leg, Sammy."

He shot me an annoyed look. "Don't do that. It's hard to know when you're joking or serious at the best of times, I don't need you fooling around and making it harder for me."

I laughed. "Sorry,"

"You sound it."

I poked my tongue out at him and darted away from his bulky form, diving into the house.

"You know," I yelled to him over my shoulder as I leapt behind the bench and hid shamelessly behind Emily and Tasha. Hey, I'm not stupid. If he sat on me like he used to be prone to doing, I'd be crushed. "If you were green, you'd make a good Hulk."

"I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that."

"Denial!" I sang, grinning stupidly. Divert his attention from our conversation. Make everything seem fine. It was a defence reflex. Plus, annoying him was rather enjoyable. And if it applied to him, it applied to every other male in the room.

Triple points to me.

**A/N: Sooo…? Am I safe? Or do I have to be worried about being murdered in my sleep? Heh. I know, I know. 17 chapters and the secrets are still well and truly buried, but I promise their getting closer and closer to the surface. In case you missed it (which is possible, since I write myself in circles) the letter and the book are rather big clues. I don't want to spoil the surprise, so just…bare with me? **

**Please please please don't hate me and pretty please review! **

**~Meg xx**


	18. Mother's Love

**A/N: Sorry for the wait, guys! Hope you enjoy it, and please don't forget to leave a comment at the end :)**

**Special thanks to **_**Happy2BeeMe, kikikiki, SasoLOVE111, 'Lil Obsessed, TempusSimia, brightglo, Mythical Words, lunajadenyx, MintCcIceCream **_**and**_** LoneWolfPack **_**for their lovely reviews! Keep em coming, guys (:**

**. : Chapter 18: Mother's Love : . **

After running around the house for a while escaping Sam, who had finally snapped at my taunting and declared he was going to chuck me off the cliff - we're actually related, who knew? – and happily letting Black intervene (he got pretty upset with Sammy about the cliff comment) I settled for lounging around.

I was currently using Seth as a foot rest, since he was conveniently sitting on the floor at my feet, while most of the 'gang' were packed into the living room, engrossed in yet another football game. It's such a stupid sport. Why were there never any races on when I actually had time to relax and watch TV? Karma apparently hates me. And I'm not entirely sure what I've done to piss it off.

Ben was situated on my lap, eagerly taking in the demented game as it played out and enjoying all the attention he was getting as the guys (who didn't all go for the same team) tried to get him to back one or the other.

I rolled my eyes and slapped Embry's arm, he was sitting on my left, Black had commandeered my right. It automatically had me in a bad mood. I could feel the warmth rolling off him, and his eyes seemed to be on me constantly. It was making me feel…odd, in an indescribable way. "Cut it out will you? I can't give him back to his parents a flippin' football addict."

Embry raised his eyebrows. "_Flippin_'?"

"I will only warn you once, _don't_."

"Leave her alone, Em." Jacob said idly with a lazy grin. I doubt I was the only one who picked up that he wasn't really _asking_, though. "You know how she gets when she's pissed off."

"You'd be the expert on that one." Paul chimed in, cocky grin in place. He was a lot worse when Rachel wasn't around to put him in his place.

Unfortunately, somehow due to my own stupidity, I was the only female who'd stayed with the boys for the game, which, I already knew I wouldn't like. The girls were all somewhere else in the house, smartly avoiding the scene. I think Leah had actually left. I was going to kick her for not taking me to.

"Paul, if you start him again, I swear to the spirits I will kick your ugly arse into the middle of next year. Understand?" I all but growled at him. I'd do about anything to avoid another Jacob-attack, the boy was simply wound up far to tight. And he did. Not. Give. Up.

He got points for persistence, that's for sure. But even with my very public conversation with CJ, he still hadn't stopped. Now he seemed to be going for a more laid-back approach, which I still thought was annoying but it was an improvement on his previous attempts.

Paul's grin got a little wider and I had to bite my lip to stop from groaning, this wouldn't be good.

"You've been checking out my arse, have you, Eves? Not that I'm not flattered, but I'm engaged, sweet cheeks."

I rolled my eyes as Jacob started growling low in his throat. Like a dog will if it thinks you're going to take its food form it. "You lot take 'surrounded by idiots' to a whole new level. Paul, the day I check you out will be the day the sun falls. You're not nearly as irresistible as you think you are, you moron. And Jacob, _shut up_!"

"Stop harassing them, Paul." Sam grunted, annoyed we were disrupting his concentration over watching men in too-tight pants run up and down lawn with a ball that isn't even round.

Football is so stupid.

"Yeah, Paul, lemme alone." I grinned, battering my eyelashes sweetly. If he called me sweet cheeks ever again, he'd not be reproducing.

He glared at me and muttered in a low tone, so as to not upset Sam the Man any further. "Suck up."

"Ya'll just have to get used to me bein' the favourite." I smirked and winked.

"Shh!" Ben chastised me.

I blinked and then glared at the guys accusingly while they tried badly to stifle their laughter. "I hate you lot."

"Nah you don't." Embry grinned, throwing an arm casually around my shoulders. "You secretly love us. You just won't admit it."

I scoffed. "Love you? I most certainly think _not_."

"Denial." He sang back, grinning so wide I thought his face would break. Oh, how I hoped it'd break.

"Will you get rid of that smug look yourself, or do you want me to help you?" I challenged. I would _not_ have my own words used against me. No, nada, nope, never.

He just continued grinning and shook his head, leaning in like lightening to press a kiss to my cheek.

"Call!" Jacob snarled, making Ben cower in my lap.

I reached over and slapped him. Hard. "Do you want me to hurt you, Black? Hmm? Do not ever, and I mean _ever_, scare my godson. Are you suicidal? Sam, is he suicidal?"

"You all will be if you don't shut up and let me watch the game!" Cousin snapped neatly. "Right, stop tormenting Jake, all of you."

_I_ nearly flinched at the hardness in his voice. It was an order, no doubting it. But, of course, I had something to say to that. "Tormenting _Jake_?" I yelped disbelievingly. "What about me? No one's said anything to Black! Well, apart from Merez, but he's a dick so he doesn't count."

"Hey!"

"_Enough_!" Sam massaged his temples tiredly. "Grow up, the lot of you, your grating on my nerves."

"They started it." I grumbled.

"Evie."

"…Sorry."

He sighed, shook his head and turned back to the TV. I glared at each and every one of them as I cuddled Ben closer to me. I hummed to him softly, and before long his tense little muscles relaxed and the whole incident was a forgotten-memory to him. I envied his ability to bury unwanted memories. Wouldn't it be nice if we could select what we wanted to remember? It'd sure as hell make high school a lot more bearable, and I didn't have a regular high school experience. Or any kind of 'regular' anything. But I'm whining, and I gave that up a long long time ago.

It was silent for a precious few moments as the boys got engrossed in the game again, then, my phone started singing madly.

I sighed in utter defeat, resigning myself to the fact that I would never have a tranquil moment that lasted more then five seconds, shifted Benny to the couch, and got up. Mumbling incoherently to myself about the evils of technology, I reached for the device on the table and checked the caller id.

I swore.

My mother.

Crap.

Carefully, I put the phone back down and flicked it away to the centre of the table while it continued to screech at me.

"I _know_, go to voicemail already!" Talking to my phone was nothing new, just a continuous reminder that my sanity was teetering on the edge. And that woman would surely push the scales.

Honestly, what had I done to turn the world _so _against me? I hadn't realised I was such a bad person. I mean, I know I'm a right bitch to most people, but they don't know that it's really for their own good, so that doesn't count. As if the Adam issue wasn't punishment enough for everything, now Mother was calling me? Something which she hardly did at all, mind you. And when she did decide to connect to her daughters, she mostly did it through Tashie, since she and I didn't see eye to eye as a rule. Don't know why, really. We just…clash. Just because I left with her all those years ago, doesn't automatically make us tight.

"Something, er, wrong?"

I looked up at Black's hesitant voice, only to find him standing at the end of the table. Close but not suffocating. Although, at the moment, I was so confused and borderline panicked it felt like he was on top on me.

Of course though, I didn't let anything but the calm exterior show. "No."

"Then aren't you going to answer that?"

"No."

"Why not?"

The phone stopped ringing, and I let out a silent breath of relief. "That, Mr Black, I don't believe is any of your business." My phone then tinged, telling me I had a message. Oh, goodie…

He made a noise in his throat that clearly announced he was exasperated. Tich tich. I plucked up the phone, curiosity and foreboding rippling through me, and dialled my message bank. Pressing it to my ear, I turned away from Black and went out onto the veranda as the so-obviously computer voice informed me I had one new message, and the time and date of which it had been received. I rolled my eyes.

"_Evangeline, I know your there."_

I cringed, either at my Mother's pristine voice or my full, much hated, name. I wasn't sure, probably both. Her tone was flat, a sign she wasn't amused.

"_You're being utterly childish, dear. I don't have time for it. I thought it would be nice if we met up. I'm in New York for a few weeks and decided time with my daughter was in need. I will call you later. And Evangeline? I expect you to answer next time."_

Yeah. That was about as affectionate as we get. Great, a reunion with Mother was just what I didn't need right now. The woman was…I didn't even know how to describe her. Cold, collected, always in control.

I cringed again. That sounded awfully like how I was turning out to be. Most of the time, anyway, when I wasn't suffering small breakdowns. What was the deal with that, anyway? I'm not _like _this. Sure, Adam is a big cause of my current stress, but…really? It must be La Push.

I snapped my phone shut and stuffed it into my pocket, then swayed back inside. It was tempting to stay on the veranda, in the fresh air and away from the hustle of inside, but the brightness and happiness of Emily's endless amount of flowering pot plants was grating on my nerves.

I couldn't have happy right now-though I probably needed it. Jacob's weird arse moods were almost more suitable to my current disposition.

"What was that all about?" Sam asked me as I came back to the lounge.

Black had actually returned to his seat, instead of hovering around the door waiting for me. It was odd, and unexpected.

I sighed and picked Ben up so I could sit down, then settled him in my lap and began stroking his soft hair. "Mother. She wants to meet up when I get home."

Cousin actually managed to take his eyes off the game long enough to give me a sympathetic smile. "Ouch."

"I know. How would you like a quality luncheon with your Aunt, Sammy? While I mysteriously develop a hideously terrible disease that's really, really contagious."

He spared time from the precious game to give me a dry look that said it all.

"Work on my marketing skills?" I mumbled.

He nodded. "Lots."

"Arse."

"She's your mother, Eves. It won't be bad."

"Are we remembering the same woman, here?"

"Aunt Jackie isn't that bad." He said, but his attention had again been consumed.

I snorted. "Yeah, and the sun isn't hot."

"What's the deal?" Kevin asked. "What's wrong with her?"

"Well," I began, holding up one hand and began checking things off on my fingers. "For one, she'd have a heart attack if anyone called her _Jackie_. It's _Jacqueline_, with a French accent, mind you. Mam, or, if we're lucky, Mother. She _never_ calls us. We're lucky to get a card or a phone call on our birthdays. I doubt we'd even know if she died, or if anything else important happened to her life. She dumped us both in boarding schools practically as soon as we set foot in New York. I spent every holiday at friend's houses instead of with my own family. She was _late _for my _graduation_. She had ridiculous expectations of us, _and_, she has the general personality of a troll."

'_She wasn't even in the same hemisphere when my fiancé betrayed everything I am and left me whilst killing our child and ruining my life in general, let alone there for me.'_ I added sulkily.

"Wow…your Mum's a bitch." Vinnie summarised.

I cast him a dry look. "Well, gee, how'd you figure that?"

He grinned cheekily at me. "I have no idea."

"You don't have to go, you know." Jacob said softly. Well, as softly as a six foot plus, steroid popping male can be.

Alright, now I'm being spiteful. Even if it is Black. This is the effect my Mother has on me.

"As nice as that would be, I'm afraid it isn't an option. When Mother says jump, we have to jump…and preferably ask how high. It's just the way it is. She's not like Daddy was, but she used to be. I don't know what happened." I leaned down and inhaled Ben's sweet smell, biting the insides of my cheeks all the while.

I still imagine what my son would have looked like. What his skin would have felt like. What he would have smelled like.

What colour would his eyes have been? Would his smell have calmed me like Ben's does? What would his smile have looked like? What would he have wanted to his, his first words, steps, tooth, birthday, Christmas, school day…the questions tortured me.

"You used to be different to." Jake's voice broke through the wall of pain I had unintentionally built around me in those few moments. "What happened to you?"

I looked up at him, and met his chocolate eyes. It took me a moment to understand that the blurriness across my vision was because of tears.

He reached for me, but I swiped at the drops slowly trickling down my cheeks and stood. I cupped Ben's confused little face in my hands, the face of my son fading away, and kissed his forehead before all-but-fleeing the room.

**A/N: Apologies again for the lateness of this one, and the shortness. I've been away from home again for almost a week. And I've been hit with a wall of writer's block with **_**all**_** my stories :/ Hideously annoying, but…know I'll always get it done eventually. **

**Next chapter-although I'm not sure when you'll get it-will be rather big *wink wink, nudge nudge* Lol. **

**I'm half asleep at the moment, having had about 4 hours in three days (spur of the moment trips, not good.) So I wish you all a good night (:**

**Love, **

**Meg xx**


	19. The Journal

**A/N: Hey guys, I know it's been too long, but I've been really busy and away for a week and etc etc. I've had so much writing block with every-damn-thing recently that this chapter was a bit hard to get, but here it is! **

**Thank you so much **_**SasoLOVE111, RANDOM COOKIE NINJA, MintCcIceCream, kikikiki, TempusSimia, brightglo, Happy2BeeMe, 'Lil Obsessed **_**and**_** LoneWolfPack **_**for the lovely reviews! **

**Hope you enjoy this one and leave a comment at the end!**

**. : Chapter 19: The Journal : . **

Breathe. Just breathe, Evie. Oxygen is essential to a continued survival.

It gripped me, gnawed on me, and demanded that I face it.

I didn't want to. I don't want to, damnit!

I'd climbed up the stairs and shut the door firmly behind me. Now I leant against it and tried to calm the fuck down, whilst worrying that one of the buffoons had stupidly decided to follow me up and comfort me.

Hah. Them, comfort me. It was almost…no, it was nothing. I didn't need it. No. I'm not a princess, delicate and glass-slipper wearing. Nor would I ever marry a prince. Met one of them once, he was a prat. If someone else hadn't been trying to kill him, I probably would've myself. But that's not the point here.

I went to check my phone, but realised that I'd left it down stairs. Bugger, I probably could've used hearing Tammy's or someone's voices. Have them arrange me an appointment with some hideously overpaid shrink.

…Nah. You still couldn't drag me to one of those barsteds. Even if I knew I needed them.

My eyes fell on the old leather journal sitting on the bedside table. They stuck to it, unable to look away.

That's what I could use. A distraction. And what better distraction then a book left to me by my deceased father. What had he said about it?

'_The story has been in this family, this tribe, for generations, but this is the first time it's really been written down.' _

Hmm, definitely sounded like a distraction.

It'd do anyway.

I picked up the volume, felt the leather-soft from years of being-against my fingers. It wasn't very heavy, but it was a weight I felt inside me. I frowned down at it, but clutched it tighter anyway. I opened the window and climbed out, carefully making my way down the tree to fall the last foot to the soft ground.

Looking around carefully to make sure I hadn't been seen and there wasn't anyone to see me, I took off at a light jog into the trees.

I jogged on for a while, going deeper and deeper into the woods. Kept going until the path wasn't a well-worn one, it was littered with leaves and sticks, void of fresh tracks of any kind. I kept going until I could no longer feel the presence of man-of humanity, there was just nature, in its plainest and rawest of forms.

I slowed to a walk and just breathed for a while, pleased when the cool, pine-scented air filled my lungs.

Finding an appropriate log to sit on-it wasn't hard-I plopped down on it and stretched out my legs, digging my bare toes into the damp, dark soil. Sighing at the relaxing coolness, I shuffled around a bit more to get comfortable and opened the journal to the first page.

_Tuari Uley_

The name was scrawled across the top of the first page in neat, faded handwriting.

"Tuari…" I whispered, frowning in thought. "I know that name."

It clicked a few seconds later, and I resisted the urge to smack myself. Tuari was effectively my great-uncle, younger brother of Levi Uley-Sam's and my great-grandfather.

Summed up, our family tree went a bit like this: Levi Uley reproduced, then his children reproduced, getting my father and Sam's. As far as I understood it, our grandfather, Charles Uley, had a falling out with Dad over something or other, and my Dad changed his name to his mother's maiden name. Hence why I'm Eva _Hanson_ and not Eva _Uley._

So, my great-uncle's journal rested in my lap. Its pages weathered, yellowed and torn with time.

My interest skyrocketed. This was better then getting a new Harry Potter book. Well…almost. Yes, I do read more then instruction manuals and mission reports. Shocking, I know.

I flipped to the next page and started reading.

_June 10__th_

_It's happening again. First it was Ephraim, and now Levi has disappeared. _

Ephraim Black-Jacob's great-grandfather.

_He won't even see me! Four days it's been, since I last spoke to him. Then it wasn't much of a conversation. He told me that I was too young, that I wouldn't understand. I am not that much younger! He never speaks to Ruth like this. And she is younger then I am. _

_It was just like with Ephraim. He suddenly had an attitude and started eating the house down. Then he disappeared for a few days. Pa got all quiet, wouldn't even smile at Ruth when she made him cupcakes. When Levi appeared again, he was taller, broader and all muscle. He nodded at Caleb, ruffled Ruth's hair and told me off, then he left again. _

_I know the others know what's happened. But they won't tell us. _

I remembered now. Levi was the second oldest, Tuari the second youngest, out of four.

_June 20__th_

_Levi came home again today. He's gotten bigger, if that was possible. Everyone acts like its normal again, like nothing has changed. But it has, I can see it in Levi's eyes. He's not the brother I knew before. _

_He's quieter now, but stranger. I saw him open a jar for Ma at lunch. He didn't even bat an eyelid. I know I couldn't have gotten it. But this time last month, he would've at least had to put some effort into it. And he's hot! It's raining and horrible today, and he's not wearing a shirt! It's not normal, but no one will listen to me. _

_Then Ephraim came around tonight, and he left again. It's strange between them now, too. Before, _this, _Levi was always the pushier of the two. But now…Ephraim has this…this _sense _about him. Like he's _more_. _

_Pa told me to leave it. That it was for my own good to leave it well alone. Ma just smiles and carries on. But she's worried. I can tell. I saw it on her face when Black showed up. Something is definitely going on, and I'm going to find out what. _

_July 3__rd_

_Three! Now there are _three _of them! Quil Ateara is the new one. Same thing as with Ephraim and Levi. The aggression, the disappearing, the growth spurts, the weird behaviour! It's all there! A pattern that just keeps repeating. _

_I snuck up to a council meeting tonight, (that _they _are suddenly aloud to attend!) and heard the elders calling them our 'new protectors'. Something about genes, and talk of who would be next. _

_I would've stayed longer and learnt more, but Levi looked right into the place I was hiding. Like he knew I was there, like he could _see _me. I left, and he hasn't said anything to me about it, if he did know. _

_I've heard something about the protectors before. In our legends. Nothing makes any sense!_

I paused at the end of the entry, recalling myself the referral to the protectors in the legends. Those who defended the tribe from the Cold Ones. The descendants of the wolves.

_July 24__th_

_Something's happening to me. The Protectors, as their being called now, have been watching me recently. Looking at me like…like I'm next. And now…it's happening, it is. I can feel myself changing. I've got such a short temper lately, no patience. _

_Pa clapped me on the shoulder, smiled, and said 'it'll all make sense soon, boy.' I DON'T WANT TO BE LIKE THEM! _

_July 28__th_

_THEIR TRUE! ALL TRUE! The legends, the stories, their real, so real. There really are descendants of wolves, and there really are Cold Ones-Vampires. VAMPIRES! _

_I EXPLODED INTO A GIANT GODSDAMNED _WOLF!

_I'm a protector of the tribe, a carrier of the gene. Ephraim explained it all to me once I'd 'phased'. He said it has to be a secret from everyone except the Elders. I can hear them, in my head. When we're in our wolf forms, we can hear each others thoughts. Feel, and even see what the others are seeing. _

_I got so mad, that's what they said triggered the phase. When we get angry, we loose control and just phase. I was so close to hurting Ma, so close. If Levi hadn't been there, I don't know what would've happened. All I saw was red. I couldn't stop. _

_Ma forgave me, she said it was alright, that it was normal and that the others knew I was about to phase, so they were never to far away. It took me three days to turn back into, well, me. Three days! _

_It doesn't work like that normally. Ephraim said we can phase in and out at will, as long as no one sees us. He's our Alpha. He's got this sense about him, like he's born for this. And he is, I guess. His line will always have the Alpha gene, and be the Chief's of the tribe. I learnt Levi is his Beta, our second in command. _

_The growth spurts make up for our massive wolf size. We run on higher temperatures, so we don't really feel the cold. We don't get sick. We have the wolves' hunger, the strength and speed, in our human forms. _

_I can feel the wolf stalking inside me. Looking to get out. _

_Ephraim said that was normal too. Their half of us. Part of us. _

_It's so much! I can't get my head around all of it. _

_I'm a werewolf, my brother is a werewolf! It's all true. Their not stories. _

_I'm. A. Werewolf!_

The journal suddenly felt like a brick in my lap. Was this some kind of sick joke? Was my great-uncle some kind of loon?

The legends, they couldn't be true, because then that would mean…

"Evie?"

I leapt into the air at the masculine voice, whirled around to face it, journal clutched tightly in my hand.

Jake stood there, looking worried and a bit confused. Bare except for the pair of cut offs that hung low on his hips. His muscular form seeming impervious to the slight breeze that was ruffling my hair.

Goose bumps ran up my arms and down my spine.

The muscles, the weird behaviour…

"Evie?" He took a step forward, reaching out and cupping my cheek in his massively warm hand. "Are you alright?"

I hadn't realised he was that close.

His touch made my skin tingle with a sensation in between pleasure and pain. His hand was hot. So hot.

"Ohmygod." I breathed, staring at him. "It's true. It's fucking true! Oh My _God_!"

"What?" He asked, frowning. "What's true? Evie, beautiful, what's wrong?"

I wrenched myself out of his grip and stumbled backwards until my back hit the trunk of a large pine tree. "The legends…you…you're a _werewolf_!"

**A/N: I know it's cruel to leave it there, and that the chapter is pretty short in general-but I really did run out of time, and I wanted to give you **_**something **_**now. **

**I've been away again with work and I'm going away again **_**today **_**for another week-so, instead of making you wait, I thought I'd give you this! **

**I doubt I'll get much of a chance to do any writing for the next week so I have no idea when the next chapter will be up. But I'll try to have it for you as soon as possible. **

**Hope you enjoyed it! PLEASE REVIEW!**

**Love, **

**~Meg xx**


	20. Broken

**A/N: Wow, 20****th**** chapter, done in nearly a day. Woo :D Hope you enjoy it, as they say, the shitith is aboutith to hitith the fan-ith lol (: I am pleased with this chapter, though I did finish about ¾ of it this afternoon, so apologies for any mistakes. I wanted to get it to you asap after the last cliffy, hehe. **

**Thank you so much **_**SasoLOVE111, Mythical Words, SpadesAndClubs, 'Lil Obsessed, kikikiki, gothic-hands, NeedCoffeeINeedItOrI'llExpload, Puckabrina Alee, Happy2BeeMe **_**and **_**Ravenclaw Slytherin **_**for the gorgeous reviews! Keep it up, I love hearing what you think!**

**Enjoy!**

**. : Chapter 20: Broken : .**

He froze. Went so still I thought it almost had to have hurt.

"What makes you think that?" He asked after a moment of complete silence. Even the forest had gone eerily quiet. His voice was guarded, cautious and strained. So different from what I had gotten used to hearing. It felt strange, hearing him this way.

But it was all I needed to know.

"You are." I whispered. "Oh god, you _all _are…everyone, Sam, Embry, Paul, Quil, Seth…oh god, Seth. My Seth. Oh god. It's impossible, it can't be. _Leah…_"

_Lies_. The voice in my head whispered. _All lies. _

"Evie, please, calm down and let me explain." Jake was saying-_begging_. "Breathe, Eva! _Damnit_, your going white!" He was in front of me in seconds, big, hot hands curling around my upper arms like vices and giving me a quick, rough shake back to reality.

I inhaled sharply. The air I had relished only hours before now burned my lungs like a poison. Staring wide-eyed up at him, this boy-_man_- who had tormented me so over the last few days, I couldn't blink, couldn't comprehend. I wanted to move, to get out of his grip, but I couldn't. So I stayed.

"How?" It was all I could ask. "Why?" I didn't even recognise my own voice, could barely hear it over the buzzing in my ears.

_How? Why?_

He gave a long-suffering sigh. One that made me become a little more myself. He knew _nothing _of _suffering._

"It's complicated."

"_Don't_ tell me it's fucking _complicated_, Jacob! Just _don't_! Don't you dare use that excuse! Un-complicate it, and explain to me, what the _fuck_ is going on!" I snarled, anger now burning in my soul. How could they _not _have told me about this? I brought my _godson _here!

He just looked at me for a long moment, then he let me go and stepped back, much to my surprise. I thought once he put his hands on me, he'd never let me go.

I mentally smacked myself for that thought. I'd have made him let go. I _would_.

He gestured with one hand back to the log. "Maybe you should sit."

"I'm fine where I am." I snapped icily. "Stop. Stalling. Black."

"Do you want to tell me how you found out?" He asked again, taking a seat himself.

I noted that he was trying not to pressure me. He was watching every move I made with an attentiveness that my unit could've been proud of, had I not been so bloody pissed not to care.

I held up the journal stiffly. "Tuari Uley. Younger brother to Levi Uley, my great-uncle and fourth member of Ephraim Black's...whatever you call yourselves. He kept a journal, apparently. My father left it to me."

He frowned. "I never knew there was a journal. The Protectors are a secret, Evie. Our story is only in the legends, and no one, except certain tribe members, believes them."

I rolled my eyes at him. "Yes, I know that, thank you, dumbass. Tell me what I _don't _know."

"…There's a gene in the tribe…"

"Know that. Next."

"…It's dormant until there is a presence of the _Cold Ones_, Vampires. Then those with the gene start phasing-changing into werewolves-to protect our people. We kill the Cold Ones, it's what we're for, why we exist. That's about it."

I stared at him. "That's _it_? You're a fucking giant slobbering dog, and you can sum in all up in three sentences?"

"You seem to know the rest." He offered lamely. "That book can probably explain it better then me, I'm not good with…"

I snorted as he trailed off. "Obviously. How could you fucking do this to me? I've got Ben with me for god's sake!"

"We won't hurt him." He bristled, then looked my straight in the eye, his gaze so honest and open. "I'll _never_ hurt _you_. I never _could_."

"Don't start this shit with me, Black! I thought it would've gotten through your thick skull by now…I can't…" I threw my hands up in frustration and ran the empty one through my loose hair. It caught in a couple of knots and pulled. I winced, but welcomed the insignificant pain. Something else to concentrate on.

"Why not?" He growled suddenly, leaping to his feet. "Why not, Eva? What's got you so scared, huh? I know you feel something for me, I _know_ you do!"

I gawked at him, his clenched fists, his quick breaths. "Are you a mind reader now, too? I don't feel anything for you, Jacob….Is that what the shaking is? Is that to do with the werewolf?"

Whatever it was, it was seriously starting to freak me out one way or another.

Jacob took a deep breath in through his nose-closed his eyes and held it for a moment, then exhaled out through his mouth. The shaking that had turned his form to an-almost blur subsided, with it, he also uncurled his fists.

"Yes." He said after a moment, blinking his melted-chocolate eyes open to fix on me. I couldn't decipher the emotions in them, there were so many… "Our phasing, in the beginning, is because we get angry. _Really _angry. It takes a little bit to gain control of our tempers…even then…" He trailed off and dropped his eyes. "I will never hurt you, Evie. I promise you that."

I watched him, wary for the first time since I'd made the unbelievable discovery.

"_I was so close to hurting Ma….so close….All I saw was red… I couldn't stop."_

"But you can't." I whispered, my eyes never leaving him. "You can't promise me that, can you?"

It wasn't really a question.

For some reason, that _hurt_.

He still didn't look at me.

I ran.

oOo

I took off through the trees, not entirely sure if I was going in the right direction, but just _going. _

I couldn't stand there any longer. Couldn't watch him a second more.

It hurt me! The lies, the secrets, from _these _people! The tiny sliver of my life that was supposed to be clean of corruption and lies…wasn't. It was hurting more then I would ever admit. And standing there, listening-_seeing_- Jacob _admit _it…was like being pushed under water and held there, until your lungs screamed at you and everything started to fade…

I gasped in a breath and choked on it.

Coughing, I pressed a hand against the nearest tree and leant against it. When the spots cleared from my vision, I looked up and around. My eyes settled on the bright, little house that, until now, I'd become so comfortable in.

The pain rippling through me, morphed in that instance, turned into a burning anger that licked hungrily at my insides. Begging to get free.

Narrowing my eyes on the house, I straightened and calmly-too calmly-headed towards it.

oOo

With the anger still boiling within me, I used the extra strength it gave me without consideration. When I'm _pissed, _you get the _hell _out of my way. Simple as that.

I kicked the front door so hard, the bang echoed in my ears and the door knob left a hole in the wall where it collided with it.

Whoops.

All movement past the broken barrier stopped dead, and all the eyes snapped like lightening to me.

The boys had all shot to their feet, anticipating a stranger, their hulking forms tense and ready for a fight. Sam, Jared, Vincent and Paul had positioned themselves in front of their partners. Tasha and Rachel were gripping each other's hands so tightly in their shock that I could see the whites of their knuckles even from where I stood.

They all relaxed, realising it was just me, but soon tensed again as they realised the mood I was in.

As soon as Sam went to open his mouth, I beat him to it.

"_Werewolves_?" I spat the word, and it fired off my tongue like ice.

Eyes widened in surprise, then dropped to the floor. Even the girls, my best friend and my sister, looked away.

"So it really is true. Eighteen years, _eighteen_, all that time and not once did _someone _think to tell _me_? Huh?"

"They haven't always known, Evie. And you weren't here when we first started phasing." Sam reasoned, quietly. He'd raised his gaze from the oh-so-interesting floor, but he still didn't look me in the eyes.

Coward.

"Maybe not. But you knew all along that it was possible, didn't you?" I snapped sharply at him, unforgiving. Then I looked to Tasha. "And so did you. What? Am I not worthy of our family secrets, _sister_? Our great-grandfather _and _uncle, were werewolves, and you didn't think I deserved to _know_?"

"How did you know about them?" She asked, avoiding my murderous gaze and my questions.

I dropped the secret journal onto the table with an easily audible '_smack_', realising that if it weren't for this hundred-or-so year old book, I probably would've _never _known.

"It was a gift to me, from Daddy." Reluctantly, I drew my hand away from the smooth leather, leaving it there. "It's very informative. Werewolves, genes, _vampires_…So you're all werewolves. Even you." I looked to Leah imploringly, but even she wouldn't meet my gaze. "I told you everything! I'm more honest with you then I am with my own flesh and blood! But you couldn't tell me this?"

Old wounds left by the agonizing lashes of betrayal started to bleed all over again, and new ones opened up beside them. If you could die from betrayal, I would've, a hundred times over. Didn't she trust me? My best friend?

It hurt like a bitch, and left a bitter taste in my mouth.

"It wasn't like that, Evie!" She protested, finally looking at me. There was pain and sadness in her eyes. Regret, fear. "I wanted to tell you, honestly I tried, but we physically _can't_ disobey our Alpha's orders. And he ordered us not to tell anyone our secret. And that included you." She muttered, shooting Sam a glare that could've melted him.

It was the last piece I needed to understand that little dilemma. "So you are the…Alpha, then, are you?" I glared at him, too. Typical it being his fault. Whatever bridges we had built, all came crashing down around us.

And from the look in his eyes, he knew it, too.

He sighed. "I didn't want to hurt you, Eva. You don't understand."

"No, I don't. But then, how the hell could I, Samuel?" I demanded viciously. "People can't understand something they've never been told about! I had a _right _to know, damn you!"

"If you had stayed a bit longer…"

I whirled around at his voice.

He stood in the slightly-worse-for-wear door way, bare chest gleaming, rising and falling with each deep breath he took. I couldn't help notice the slight sheen his tanned skin had, and the dampness of his hair.

A glance out the window revealed it to be showering lightly. Fucking dumbass weather. Cursed place. Never should have come back. Never.

"You might have understood a little more by now." He finished.

I looked back at him in time to see a droplet fall off a strand of black-as-night hair and land with a splash I almost heard on his chest.

"You didn't have a whole fucking lot to say." I muttered, slightly distracted as that drop ran down the planes of his muscled stomach and abdomen. I mentally slapped myself, several times, when it reached the line of his cut-offs.

_The fuck, Eva? Just…What. The. Fuck?_

"I think I can tell you a bit more." He took a hesitant step inside and reached out to me slowly, as if I were a wild animal he didn't want to spook.

I shrank away, feeling that last moment of wariness creep back. "You can talk without touching me. Stop trying to touch me, damn you!"

He face, which wasn't very happy to begin with mind you, fell that much further with my rejection. There must have been something else in my voice this time. Something that must have finally gotten through to him.

He dropped his hand.

"So you know our job is to protect our people and the reservation from the Cold Ones, the vampires, and that those with the werewolf gene first phase when there is a vampire presence?" Sam asked, taking control of the situation as Jacob went mute.

I nodded wordlessly, finding it strangely difficult to look away from him, but I did.

They'd lied to me. These people I had trusted. It was happening again. How many would I have to trust and be betrayed by to learn this lesson?

_So?_ The inner voice asked. _It's what you've done to them, isn't it?_

_**Shut up!**_

It wasn't the same, similar, but not the same. Spies are a whole different kettle of fish. That's a single person's choice, to fight for their loved ones and country. Not some old-as-time family secret that could, and would, have ruined my life if it had happened to me.

"Alright," Sam was saying. "What do you know about imprinting?"

Leah sat up stiffly straight, panic flashing across her pretty face. "Sam, _don't_…"

My cousin, now officially disowned, held up a hand to silence her, never taking his eyes off me.

I shrugged, again feeling cautious. This would turn out to be another bombshell, I could tell by the alarmed looks on all the faces.

"Nothing. I haven't read the whole book, yet."

"Good." Uley nodded. "Jake will explain it to you now."

"Sam, I don't think that's a very good idea…" Black protested in a strangled sounding voice.

He gave him a defeated look. "She might as well know everything, Jake. Tell her." It was an order.

Black winced and looked at him regretfully. "Imprinting is when a werewolf finds his soul mate…"

"_Stop!_" Leah yelped.

"Quiet!" Sam growled.

She snapped her mouth shut.

Okay, _now _I'm nervous.

…Where is Ben?

"When you look her in the eyes, that's it. Nothing matters to you like she does. She's everything, your world, your air, your life. A wolf's imprint, is his soul, his reason to live. Emily is Sam's imprint, Georgie's Vinnie's, Rach is Paul's, Claire is Quil's, you're…."

"_Stop_! Stopstopstop_stop_!" I slammed my hands over my ears. "I know what you're going to say, and you're _wrong_! Your wrong….And Claire and Quil? What the _fuck_? That's _sick_! Ohmygod, oh god, ohgodohgodohgod. This is _so_ much worse; she's a _child_ for god sakes!"

Distract them, please please please let it distract them!

"There's a bit more to it then that." Sam said, giving Jake a look. "An imprint is a bond-yes, they are soul mates, but the imprinter-if you will-will be whatever the imprint needs them to be. Protector, brother, friend, lover. Quil and Claire's relationship is at the protector/brother stage. It will change as she grows, and when's she's old enough and ready, then it will become more then that. While we're phasing regularly, we won't age. We'll appear the same until we stop phasing. That's why we all look older then we are. We'll wait for our imprints to catch up to us, then we'll stop and start aging again."

"Fucking fountain of bloody youth-and you've got to be a mutant dog." I muttered under my breath, disbelievingly. "Jesus _Christ._"

"We've also got super senses, strength and speed." Paul added with a smirk that was more hopeful. "In both forms. Which means we heard that." He thought it was a sign I was coming around. He was very much mistaken.

"Where is my godson?" I asked in a slightly monotone.

"Evie, we haven't finished here yet." Sam said with finality.

"Oh, but I have finished here. I'm taking my godson, my things and my dog, and getting the fuck out of here." I snapped icily. "We're done, Samuel."

I turned and made for the stairs, but his voice halted me in my tracks.

"I imprinted on you, Eva." His voice was broken.

He sounded like I felt.

"We're soul mates, _please_, don't leave. I'm sorry, I am so sorry. I don't know what it is, but I know this-_everything_-is hurting you and it's killing me! I can't be without you…I love you, Eva. It's messed up, this, but I do, more then anything!"

"_I love you, my Eva." His breath tickled my neck as he whispered the words, pressing a kiss to where my neck and shoulder met. He stroked his fingers up and down my bare stomach lovingly. "And I love our child. I hope they have your eyes."_

"_Adam…"_

The tears were already running down my cheeks.

I can't do that, not again.

"I'm sorry, too."

His damn werewolf-enhanced hearing should've picked that up.

I climbed the stairs three at a time. Leaving the tears as they were, not having the strength to brush them away. I was done here, I knew it for certain.

I've been burned to many times.

The betrayal ran to deep to be forgotten.

Too painful to be forgiven.

oOo

Ben was asleep on the bed, and I let him be as I threw our things back into their bags. I clipped Mutt's lead onto his collar and nudged the little fluff ball awake. Doing a final once over of the room, I slipped my favourite handgun into the waist of my jeans, making sure that my hoodie hung well low enough to conceal it.

I did it out of reflex, but it proved it. I didn't trust them anymore. It was broken, and unrepairable. Gone.

Slinging the almighty load over my shoulders, I gently woke BB.

He blinked his beautiful eyes open sleepily, and stared at me a moment until they focused. He sat up and his little face twisted with worry.

"Wha's wrong, Auntie Evie?" He asked, reaching out his small hand to touch my dampened cheek. The gesture damn near broke what was left of my heart.

I smiled the best I could and turned to kiss his fingers. "We've gotta go home, sweetheart. Be a good boy for me, please."

He nodded wordlessly, somehow in his innocence understanding my need to get away. He wobbled to his feet, unsteady on the mattress, and clutching his favourite toy, helped get himself settled in my arms.

The weight was admittedly a fair burden, Maddy packed everything but her kitchen sink, but I took it without blinking and made my way stably back down the stairs.

They were still all there, exactly where they'd been before, and I realised that only a couple of minutes had passed. They watched me, but didn't say anything. Let me pass and did nothing.

I didn't look at _him_.

I _couldn't_ look at him.

Only when I got to the door, did someone break the cold silence that had settled.

"Call when you get there okay?" Tasha pleaded. "Please be careful, Evie. Please let me know you're safe. Please. You're my sister, no matter what!"

I pressed my lips to the top of Ben's forehead as he leant it into the crook of my neck, for comfort or to hide himself from the obvious awkwardness, I didn't know. I was glad I had him at any rate.

I strode out to my Enzo, each step hitting against the wall of pain I'd been trying so hard for so long to withhold. .

It would be the hardest fight I'd faced yet, to get back on my game. I knew that.

The drizzle hadn't let up, only gotten heavier, so I hurriedly settled Benny and Mutt in the passenger seat before throwing everything else into the back.

I paused at the open driver's door and chanced a look back.

He was standing there, in the rain, getting soaked, watching me.

Tears slipped free as I just stood there a moment.

"I am sorry, Jake. I don't mean to hurt you, but I can't do it again." I murmured, my lips barely moving. It wasn't really meant for him to hear, more for me to just admit. "I believe you."

I shivered in the wind and slipped into the car, started it, and drove away. My past, everything that had been, could have been, going up in smoke.

"I believe you."

I broke.

**A/N: Well? The disaster chapter finally arrives! (The first one, anyway ;)) It's dramatic, but it's meant to be very emotional. New chapters will constantly be revealing new things about our Eva, so, hopefully, you'll always be learning something! (: **

**I'll be away for three days from Sunday afternoon-back to work-so I highly doubt there will be another chapter before next weekend. I have no idea what my schedule is these days, lol. **

**As always, please review! They are the best motivators I know (:**

**Love, **

**~Meg xx**


	21. My Broken Wings

**A/N: Huge thank you to all for the support & feedback from the last chapter, I was amazed, really fantastic, thank you so much guys **

**Hugs'n'kisses to **_**kikikiki, lightan117, Ravebclaw Slytherin, NeedCoffeeINeedItOrI'llExpload, rae-rae89, LoneWolfPack, MintCcIceCream, SasoLOVE111, brightglo, Puckabrina Alee, Relly LALA, 'Lil Obsessed, Happy2BeeMe **_**and **_**TempusSimia**_** for the reviews! Love them :D**

**Hope you like this one as much…**

**. : Chapter 21: My Broken Wings : .**

I drove all the way back to New York, all three thousand, eight hundred and seventy-five kilometres. I did it in one, only stopping for the necessities. Didn't worry about sleep-I don't think I could've even if I'd tried.

All I wanted was to get back into bustle of the city, a world away from La Push.

Benny and Mutt somehow managed to sleep through eighty percent of the trip, for that I was thankful.

I tried not to let my godson see me cry. I was supposed to be the strong one, the adult. He was supposed to be safe with me.

I felt hollow, defeated. Like I had lost some huge battle within myself. Every time I thought about it, the tears came again. And again and again and again….

Poor BB was confused and fretted when he was awake, and I did my best to comfort him, but I wasn't as successful as I'd have liked.

I left my phone off, not wanting to talk to anyone, and knowing there would soon be a dozen trying to contact me.

It was past midnight when we pulled into my driveway, the only sources of light on my out-of-the way street coming from the street lights. Hitting a button on the dash activated the roller door to the garage and my baby was soon shut safely inside.

I slid out, feeling stiff and exhausted, and scooped BB into my arms. Mutt fell out of the Enzo, then stumbled to his little feet and wobbled after me as I went into the house from the adjoining door.

He went straight to his elaborate doggy bed that was set up in the lounge room and collapsed. Too tired to make the journey up the stairs to my room, where he usually slept. Not that I could blame him.

My home isn't very big, it's two stories, but more tall then wide. There were two bedrooms with private bathrooms and my rather large study up stairs. Then the kitchen, lounge room, laundry, another bathroom and rec room on the bottom floor. The garage connected with the lounge room, and out the back there was a small yard. Just room for Mutt to get his exercise by harassing (or being harassed by) my neighbour's cats.

Ironic, a dog getting his arse whooped by a cat, but these cats are about twice his size.

I softly closed the door to the garage, leaving our bags where they were for now, then ascended the set of glass stairs to the white, fuzzy carpeted hallway above.

There were two doors on the right and one at the end. I took the first door and entered the guest room. It wasn't overly decorated as I had a few people stay, just the double bed, little tables etc. I settled Benny under the soft blankets, tucking his toy in beside him and kissing his forehead before creeping back out.

From there I went straight to the next door, my room, and collapsed on my bed. The many black and white pillows bounced and even fell off as I curled myself into a ball and cried until the sun began to rise.

oOo

_JACOB'S POV_

I stood there, in the rain, like a complete _idiot_, watching my _life _drive away.

But at the same time that the despair and agony filled my heart, my soul, a tiny piece of hope flickered in the darkness.

"_I believe you_."

Three little words. Simple, short-maybe not the _best _three words around-but they were enough. I don't think she really expected me to hear her, but I could even hear her erratic heartbeats. Each breath she took…over the rain, the wind, my own panic. I might as well have been standing right in front of her.

Why do I always screw things up? I'd only had Evie for a few days, no, scratch that, I didn't even have her for that, and now she was gone.

I was torn between the wolf and the man. The wolf wanted to race after her, bring her back and never let her out of our sight ever again. But the man in me, how ever much of him was left, forced the wolf down.

I wanted her, more and air itself, but I saw the fear in her eyes. All the panic and terror. My mate was so lost, so hurt, that I denied myself what I wanted in getting her back, and respected her enough to let her go.

But damn if it didn't hurt like fuck.

The Enzo wasn't even out of sight before my paws hit the ground.

oOo

_NO ONE'S POV_

The normally lively home was quiet enough to be able to hear a pin drop as the pack watched Jacob disappear into the trees, and Evie vanish from their lives.

"I told you not to do that." Leah snarled, whirling around to glare viciously at Sam. She shook, but fought to keep from phasing, despite how tempting it was to try and rip his godforsaken head of his shoulders. "I _told you_!"

"She would've left anyway, Leah." He snapped back, feeling his own tumble of emotions at watching one of his last family members run away. He hadn't missed the look on her face. He knew she wouldn't be back. "She deserved to know everything."

"Yes, she would've left. No, she would've never forgiven us. But the imprinting…I told you what it'd do to her! But you don't listen, do you? No. You're Alpha, you know fucking best! Well you know what? You've just killed what was left of her, she won't be the same."

"Leah, please." Tasha breathed. "Stop it."

"No! I fucking won't! You have _no _idea what you've done! You don't know her at all, and you know what? You don't have the right to." The female wolf growled, her eyes flashing dangerously at the older Hanson sister, before she stalked out of the house.

Silence befell them again as Tasha slumped into a chair, dropping her head into her hands.

Rachel put a hand on her best friend's shoulder and squeezed. "She'll come around, Tash."

"No." She shook her head, peaking at the beauty between her fingers. "She won't, Rach. She won't. Leah's right, I don't know her, and I don't deserve to. I've spent my life, trying to control her, change her. We've been strangers for a long time now, this is just the final straw that broke the camel's back."

"Nonsense. There must be something we can do, right, Sam?"

The Alpha eased his giant form into a chair also and sighed. "We can't force her."

"But, Jake…"

"There's nothing we can do, Rachel." His tone was final, and it rang true.

oOo

_EVA'S POV_

"_Tell me, little jem, tell me your secrets." His voice, thick with accent and raspy, sent shivers down my spine. I could feel his hot breath against my ear. _

_He trailed his dirty finger across my collarbone slowly. He smelt like dust, cheap cigars and gun powder. _

"_Come, pretty one. All the hurt will stop, hmm?" An empty promise. I knew it'd never end. _

_I couldn't see properly out of both black and swollen eyes, my back felt like it was on fire, my shoulders and arms ached, and I had long ago lost feeling in my hands. _

"_Go. To. Hell." I whispered, through cracked and bleeding lips. _

_The fingers stopped. "Pity. Such a pity." _

_I felt him move away, then heard the swing of the whip again. _

I gasped for air as the cold water hit my face. I splashed myself several more times before turning the tap off and daring to look up.

My reflection was horrible, just like I knew it would be. Eyes, puffy and bloodshot, pale and sickly looking.

Every time I closed my eyes, I saw something else. Another thing I had thought I'd buried deep inside myself. Some other horror I had seen or felt or done, all come back to haunt me.

What happened…out there, had opened up this hidden vault, and everything was rushing out. Everything pent up was released and making up for lost time.

The sun was only half over the horizon. I could hear the city waking up, but it was all background noise. There but not sinking in.

I pealed off my clothes, one piece at a time, and watched myself in the mirror in my bathroom. Watched each scar appear, counting them, remembering how they got there.

"_Duck, Hanson! Fuck! Girl, when there's a sharp object flyin' at ya, ya duck, alright?" Sarge cussed, inspecting the short throwing knife imbedding up to the hilt in the fleshy part of my upper thigh. _

_I squeezed my eyes shut and nodded breathlessly. I'd never felt pain like this. Ten year olds don't usually play with knives. _

_Sarge whipped the blade out in the blink of an eye, and pressed his hand heavily against the bloody wound. _

_I choked on my scream of pain. No fear, no pain, no weakness. _

"_Now, what're ya gonna be doin' next time, lass?" He questioned, in a much gentler tone. _

"_Ducking." I gasped. _

"_Atta girl." _

I ran the pads of my index and middle finger over the two centimetre long scar now, shivering. Can't believe that once, I thought that was the worst pain I'd ever have. So wrong I was.

"_Piece a piss, this'll be." _

_I raised an eyebrow at the burly dark-skinned man beside me. "Why's that?" _

"_It's recon, Muppet. Nothin' simpler then recon. We go in, we look, we leave. Done and dusted, home for dinner." _

"_I know what recon is, Max." I muttered irritably. He was the senior agent, and he took this to mean that I knew shit. _

_Max looked at me out of the corner of his eye as he took another drag of his cigarette. "Yeah?" _

"_Those things will kill you one day, you know." I said matter-of-factly. _

_He dropped the butt and put it out using the toe of his expensive leather boots. "Won't be them things that get me, Muppet." _

"_Would you stop calling me that? Jesus Christ, it's annoying." _

_He gently cuffed the back of my head. "Toughen up, Eves. You'll need a good stomach if your gonna survive out here."_

Poor Max. Maybe if I'd been faster, done something different…maybe he would've still been here…only to see me fall apart now.

"_Can't live in the past, Hanson." The boss said, his old hands clasped together and resting atop his elaborate wooden desk. Polished and looking like new, even though I knew it was older then he was. _

"_Can't think of all the but's, what if's and maybe's. You'll end up in a padded cell. You have great potential, Hanson, great potential. But you've got to keep that head on your shoulders."_

_I swallowed, and steeled myself. "Yes, Sir." _

"_Good…good. Take leave for a few weeks, cool off."_

"_With all due respect, Sir, I'd rather not have leave. I want to keep working."_

_He gave me a long look out of his wrinkled eyes. "…Very well. In that case," He reached into the top draw of the iconic desk and pulled out a manila folder. "Take a look at this, tell me what you think, and we'll go from there." _

_I reached out and accepted the folder without a second thought. "Of course, Sir. Is that all?"_

"_That's all, Agent Hanson."_

I angled myself so I could see my back. The details of the wings tattoo did do a very good job of concealing the massacre of my back. The concept was fitting, scars through angel's wings. Fallen, battered, marked forever.

I wrapped my favourite white bath robe around me and ventured out of my room, pausing at Ben's door to listen, and only heard his steady breathing. When I stepped into the kitchen the red flashing of my answering machine immediately caught my attention.

Twenty-seven new messages.

With a barely audible sigh, I hit the play button and moved over to the kettle.

Something so normal I did it by reflex, but I wasn't there, not in it.

"**Evie…its Tasha, please, just give me a call, or text me, even! Let me know your safe…it's all I want…I'm so sorry, sweetie. I love you so much. I'm so sorry.**"

"**Evie, it's been hours, just…God, please, please…**"

"**Hey, Eves, it's Leah. I know I can't say anything that will make you forgive me, but I want you to know that I am,**" A shakie sigh. "**Just know that I'm sorry, and I feel like shit for it, okay? Love you babes, no matter what.**"

"**Baby girl…you wanna explain to me why I've got a dozen panicked messages from your sister…? You've gone home? What happened, are you alright? Give us a call, lemme know where you are.**" Jay sounded confused and worried. Trust Tasha to drag everyone into this. I made a mental note to text him soon.

The rest were all from Tasha, wanting to know where I was.

I deleted them all.

Sitting at the table, steaming mug clasped tightly between my shaking fingers, I stared out the window, past the neat, un-killable garden in the tiny front yard, to watch the city beyond wake.

I suppose they all thought of it as a new day, new light, new chance. I've lost track of how long I've been awake now. It was still the day in La Push, in the homey little kitchen…

Betrayal, to anyone, cuts deep, I think. When you give your trust to someone, and they shattered it…I don't think it matters if you're a spy or a receptionist, a hairdresser or a housewife…still hurts. Still makes you think…who will be next? Who _can _I trust? Who _won't_ put me through this?

Would Tam, or Jay, Dan, CJ, Madi…?

_No_! Don't think that, they would _never_…

'_Leah _never _would either_.' The inner voice, whom I'm yet to decide is rational or just sadistic, whispered.

I shook my head. No. Not them, we were a team, we trained and fought together, grew, lost, won and grieved together.

'_Adam was team, too._'

A tear fell and splashed on my wrist.

Broken wings indeed.

**A/N: I'm actually in the time limit I gave myself-and am even early! Hah! Wonders do happen :P Not very long, I know. But I wanted it as a bit of a wind-down from the full-on of the last chapter. Also got a bit more history in this one. It's choppy, but I think it conveys how she's thinking at the moment. E.g. very erratic. **

**Thank you again so much for all the reviews on the last chapter, was incredible! Please please keep it up 3 :) **

**~Meg xx**


	22. Boggy Man

**A/N: Sorry for making ya's wait again guys. Hope the gaps get smaller eventually….**

**Thank you**_** SO**_** much **_**rae-rae89, SasoLOVE111, MintCcIceCream, kikikiki, LoneWolfPack, Ravenclaw Slytherin, Happy2BeeMe, 'Lil Obsessed, TempusSimia, NeedCoffeeINeedItOrI'llExpload, Autumn's Rain, clumsyfurball7 **_**and **_**MusicIsAlwaysThere **_**for the gorgeous reviews! Really brightens my life (: **

**Hope you enjoy this one…**

**. : Chapter 22: Boggy Man : . **

I was still sitting at the table when Benny stumbled in, his toy clasped in one little hand and dragging along the floor.

My coffee was still full, but had long gone cold. I hadn't found the will to drink it, or do anything, for that matter.

"Aunty Evie." Benny said as he came to stand next to me, draping his arms over my lap and laying his head on my thigh.

"Hmm?" Subconsciously, I started stroking his hair, running the silky strands through my fingers.

He shook his head a little. "Nuthin'."

Pushing my chair back from the table a foot, I scooped him up and set him on my lap, hugging him close. He hugged me back silently, wrapping him arms around my waist as far as they'd go, and laying his head on my chest.

"I'm sorry, sweet." I murmured, dropping a kiss atop his head. "So sorry."

He shrugged. "You gonna be okay, Aunty Evie?"

'_I don't know, darling one. I don't think so, not this time.'_ I didn't say that though. How could I say that to him? I didn't answer, instead started humming some old lullaby Daddy used to sing me, so very long ago.

"Are you hungry?" I asked after a while of just sitting there. I might be a mess, but I would _never _neglect Ben. Never.

He thought about it for a moment, then sat up so he could look at me and nodded. "Little."

I forced a smile. "Good…good. What would you like? Toast? Cereal?" I really didn't feel like cooking anything, though. But I would if he asked me to.

They really are my biggest weakness. I really would do anything they asked of me, the ones I loved; the ones I _trusted_.

Luckily, his eyes brightened at the second choice. "Fruitloops?"

"_Horrible, sugary, preservative-filled, teeth-rooting, addictive, pointless snacks."_ Was what Danny referred to them as. So it went without saying that Ben loved the things, and that I kept a good supply of them hidden in the pantry for when he stayed with me.

I lifted him up and set myself to the task of getting them for him, both pleased and disappointed that I had something else to occupy my mind.

oOo

After breakfast Benny had left me with one of his innocent, childish smiles that touched some scattered piece of my heart and gone to engross himself in the rec room with his lego and the TV.

That simple, natural little smile made me feel warm after hours of feeling nothing but the icy cold.

I didn't know what to do. I surveyed the spotlessness of my kitchen, nothing out of place, nothing dirty.

With a sigh that betrayed how I still felt, I took myself upstairs and to my study. It was a spacious room, big windows, lots of light. The floor was a dark polished wood, with black and white fluffy mats underneath the furniture for both decoration and to stop the floor from getting scratched.

I took pride in this room, designed it slowly, added bits to it all the time. I eased into the big, swivelled, leather chair behind a desk that matched the floors and tapped my fingers against it.

I opened the silver laptop on the desk and brought up Google, then typed _werewolves _into the search box.

I clicked on the Wikipedia link and read through the first couple of lines. "_A __**werewolf**__, also known as a __**lycanthrope**__ (from the Greek λυκάνθρωπος: λύκος, lukos, "wolf", and άνθρωπος, anthrōpos, man), is a __mythological__ or __folkloric__ human with the ability to __shapeshift__ into a wolf or an __anthropomorphic__wolf__-like creature, either purposely, by being bitten by another werewolf, or after being placed under a __curse_."

I scrunched up my nose. They hadn't been _bitten_- it was genetic from what I had understood. I should get the journal….

"_This transformation is often associated with the appearance of the __full moon__…_"

That didn't seem to apply to them, either. As much as I knew anyway. The journal said they _phased_ when they were angry, and then at their own will.

"_Werewolves are often attributed superhuman strength and senses, far beyond those of both wolves and men….Shape-shifters, similar to werewolves, are common in tales from all over the world, most notably amongst the __Native Americans__, though most of them involve animal forms other than wolves_."

I frowned and subconsciously tried to curl myself further into my robe, trying to block the wavering emotions ricocheting around inside myself. I didn't want to cry anymore. Didn't want to be weak.

_Weakness is not acceptable. _My brain screamed at me. _To be weak is to be prey. _Someone had said that to me once, though I couldn't quite remember who it had been.

I nearly leapt out of my skin though when I heard the doorbell ring, then three gentle pounds on the door.

My heart raced, breath became laboured until not enough was reaching my lungs. _What if it was one of _them_?_ I slid open the top draw of the desk and wrapped my fingers around the smooth, cool steel of the handgun that lay in there. _What if it was Adam?_

"I'll get it!" Benny's sing-song words filtered up the stairs and to my ears.

_NO!_

Snatching up the gun I bolted from my seat and raced down the hall, the stairs and to the door. Benny was just stretching up to grab the handle when I grabbed his shoulder and yanked him back. I pressed a finger to my lips as he opened his mouth in a startled cry and gestured behind me. He complied quickly, hiding around the corner and just daring to peek out.

Letting out a shaky breath and hiding the hand with the gun behind my back, I flicked the safety off and slowly opened the door.

Jay's eyebrows shot to his hair line when he saw me, and I felt every tense muscle in me turn to mush.

_Safe, it's safe. _

"I don't think hello is the right thing to say to you." He said, narrowing his eyes over all the things he was no doubt finding off about my appearance. "Put the gun away, baby girl."

Flicking the safety back on, I turned and walked into the lounge, leaving Jay to shut the door behind himself.

Benny squealed happily when he saw him, throwing himself at Jay's legs and babbling everything and anything that had happened since the last time the pair had been together.

After their reunion, which I watched with the first hints of a real smile, Jay sent BB scurrying back to build something or other out of his lego to show him.

My long-time friend then turned his attention to me and raised an eyebrow that completely disappeared under his scruffy brown locks. Tammy was always up him to get it cut, neaten himself up. But Jay knew the roguish look worked for him, and it did.

The brown hair extended into a thin, neatly kept line of stubble and fine goatee. He had a chiselled face, high cheek bones and a strong jaw, deep blue eyes and a smile full of shiny-white teeth. Not to mention his personality. He could ooze charm when he wanted to, but at the same time could be just as serious as Maddy.

He looked fine- casual, as always. Dressed in a tight red shirt with his favourite black leather jacket over the top, a pair of dark blue baggy jeans and his usual black sneakers. Always had the women tripping over themselves.

Jay didn't miss things, either. He was a good agent, a very good agent.

"You look like crap." He said bluntly, finally coming to seat himself beside me on the plush lounge and pull me into his lap. "What happened, sweetcheeks?"

I didn't even hit him for calling me something so ridiculous. "Everything…nothing. I don't know. Everything went to shit. How'd you get here so soon?"

"You're not changing the subject." He said sharply, cuddling me closer. "Did someone hurt you?"

The tears stung again. And I thought there couldn't have possibly been any more. "Not physically…"

"What. _Happened_?"

I stilled. What did I say now? Informing someone, especially someone like Jay-any of us really, who lived around solid facts, that _werewolves_ were real…was…well…

Tucking my head under his chin, I took a deep breath, inhaling the aftershave he always wore and tried to relax. Jay was solid, comforting. In that moment, like a big brother promising to chase away the boggy man in the dark. I needed to talk to someone, as much as it disgusted me, I knew I needed help.

"They lied to me. Kept things from me that I should've been told. And now…my memories…like it was a trigger for them…they all just…I cant close my eyes without seeing _something_." I sniffed. "Hurts…_so_ much. I've gone over the edge, Jayjay. I can't…I'm not…"

I felt him sigh. "You haven't gone anywhere, baby girl. Listen to me. You're not broken, okay? This isn't going to last forever. You're stronger then that. C'mon, honey, don't cry."

I choked on the sob. "I am, though! It feels like I'm in a hundred pieces…I can see the blood on my hands and hear the screams…It hurts to breathe, to see, again…"

"Shhh, Evie. Calm down." He soothed. "What'd they lie to you about? Tasha was a mess when she called me-tell me what happened."

"Tasha has no _right_ to be anything when it comes to me!" I hissed out, though no doubt it didn't come across as threateningly as I'd wanted it to. It's hard to sound like anything other then blubbery when you're crying. "She _lied_ to me, Jay! She and Sam have been keeping secrets from me my whole miserable fucking life!"

He was quite for a moment and I used the time to try and stop the tears. It worked, sort of.

"It's not just about Tasha, is it?" He said finally.

I didn't have it in me to lie, so I just nodded. He would've known anyway.

"What else?"

"How do you do it?" I whispered instead of answering straight.

"Do what?"

I waved a hand at the air around us. "This; keep going. Keep living. After everything…"

I felt him sigh. "It's hard." He admitted quietly. "You go through everything, the pain, the guilt, the anger. It depends on you how you end up though. Some get better, some get angry, some get depressed…"

"PTSD." I murmured.

"Yeah." He squeezed me. "You don't have PTSD, Eves."

"What is it then? I never…"

"You're to strong for something like that. We all have our nightmares, baby girl. All have our demons. Just gotta learn how to boss the barsteds, 'cause their never gonna leave you. You haven't been doing this for long, but you're good. You've got what it takes to be one of us. But we're not bullet-proof; we're still just as human as everyone else. We're just tougher, harder. We _learn_ to be that way, though, we're not born like it."

"I've had a pretty shithouse run so far." I sniffed. It was true, I was a magnet for trouble-disaster.

"You've done it tough." He agreed. "But the first few years are always the worst for everyone. You're still young, still civilian in your thinking. You learn to put the spy in yourself."

Silence fell over us again as I tried to take in what he was telling me. There was so much blood in my past; I could feel it splattered on me even now. I didn't regret everything I'd done. I regretted the mistakes that I'd made that had cost _innocents_ their lives. It was their blood I saw, their loss that I feared.

I was a monster, a killer, but never to those who didn't deserve to die.

"I lost my first partner." Jay said suddenly, startling me. "I'd only been in the field for nine months. She was…It was my fault. I gave away my position and the targets jumped me. She came to help me, but in the struggle my gun went off. Shot her in the chest…she died before I got help."

I'd never known about this. I knew he'd lost a partner but…

"I got angry, went AWOL. Hunted down the barsteds we'd been after and killed them in cold blood." His voice was still hard, still bitter as he thought about it. He was tense, and so very still. "It was messy…very very messy."

I shifted a bit so I could wrap my arms around his chest. "What got you back?"

"When I stepped back and looked at what I'd done…we kill, Evie, but we don't torture. I knew I'd gone wrong, and then there was something Tyler said to me…something about not letting their deaths be in vain. That they'll be alive as long as we remember them." I could feel him shake his head. "It got to me, picked me up. They died for us, we've got no right to loose what they sacrificed themselves for. To anything."

He shifted me across off his lap and got up, giving me a reassuring smile and tapping my nose affectionately. "No more tears, now, baby girl. C'mon, let's get you some breakfast."

I sniffed. "I'm not hungry, Jay."

"Don't argue, I know you haven't eaten."

"Uncle Jay! Auntie Evie!" Benny's chirpy little voice yelled from the next room. "Come see what I've done!"

"We'll get breakfast, see Benny's handiwork, and then you can tell me everything you've left out so far." He said, smiling, though his eyes betrayed the worry he still felt. "Pick yourself up, Evie."

"I don't know if I can." I whispered honestly. I could still feel the hole inside me, the emptiness.

"You can." He told me firmly, in a tone that left no room for even me to argue. He held out a hand. "I'll help you, baby girl. You're never alone."

Silence, then, tentatively, I slipped my hand into his larger one, and let him help me to my feet.

**A/N: Another anguish-y one-I seem to be good at them :S Hopefully things will pick up soon, or the mood will change haha. My fingers get a mind of their own half the time, and the chapters never come out the way I originally thought they would. :) Anyway, I hope you enjoyed it nonetheless. I've begun work on the next one and have heaps on time on my hands, so hopefully it won't be to far away!**

**Side notes: 1: The werewolf references DO come from Wikipedia-I have no ownership whatsoever. And 2: I have no idea what American cereals consist of-fruitloops are common here in Aus, so I just go with what I know :P (And yeah, that's what my Mother thinks of them, so naturally, both her children LOVE them :P)  
**

**Please don't forget to review, they make me smile :)**

**~Meg xx**


	23. A Werewolf Tale

**A/N: Sorry for the lateness! End AN has details!**

**Thank you so much **_**LoneWolfPack, rae-rae89, Ravenclaw Slytherin, SasoLOVE111, 'Lil Obsessed, TempusSimia, kikikiki, MAMfanfic, Happy2BeeMe, MusicIsAlwaysThere, DraggonflyMaiden, Wolf-follower **_**and **_**Niki**_** for the stunning reviews! Really, you guys made me smile when I needed it (:**

**. : Chapter 23: A Werewolf Tale : .**

"…Werewolves?"

If his eyebrows could go any higher, they'd fly right off his head.

I'd caved, and decided that it would be pointless to try to lie to, or keep the information form him. So we were seated in my study, and I'd moments ago finished giving Jay the low-down on the 'family' situation.

He was sprawled out in typical male fashion on the big black leather lounge next to the windows, the journal lying open in his lap.

"As in, mythical beings that transform every full moon and attack people?"

This was the reaction I'd been expecting. I finished the mouthful of scrambled eggs that he'd made me, then forced me to eat, and shook my head. "No. The full moon has no effect on them apparently, and they don't attack people. So I'm told."

"Right…only…The Cold Ones, which are…"

"Vampires."

"Vampires. Right, of course." He ran a hand through his messy curls and sighed. "Gotta say, baby girl, this sounds like complete bullshit."

I nodded. "I know, but I promise it's true. They stood there and admitted it."

"But you never saw…"

"No. But it matches up with what the journal says. High body temperatures, rapid/sudden change to physique, enhanced senses, monstrous appetites, volatile moods…" I scrunched up my nose. "Weird as hell behaviour. It sounds insane, but I…I believe it."

He nodded. And what I believed, he'd believe. "Trust _you_ to be related to a pack of _werewolves_."

I groaned. "Shut up, like I fucking planned for this."

He held up a hand to quiet me. "I know, baby girl. It's just so damn…strange."

I grunted.

"And this other thing- imprinting? The hell is that all about?"

I rubbed at my eyes. "Jay…I don't know! Something about werewolf-soul-mate-finding. I was too pissed off to be taking much notice. When they look their 'imprint' in the eyes they bond, or something, and are forever connected to that person. True love, Cinderella shit. Read the damn book."

He didn't look at the book. "And this…Jacob Black _imprinted_, on _you_?"

"So I was gleefully informed."

"You sound thrilled, what, isn't he good looking?"

"Jay."

"Too tall, too short?"

"_Jay!_"

"I know I know, I'm teasing, lightening the mood."

"It's not working."

"I noticed, and it's truly a blow to my pride."

"Ugh, men."

"Want me to kill him?"

"…No."

"So, what do you feel? Is this imprinting a two way thing?"

"The wolf is the only one aware of the imprint until they decide to tell the _lucky_ girl. But apparently the imprint is supposed to feel some attraction, be drawn to, the wolf. Or something. Damnit, just read the book. I understand about as much as you do right now!"

He tapped the bridge of his nose. "Right." He flicked a page then looked up. "Maybe we should call one of the girls. They might be better for this part. All I can think of is 'kill'. They might see the romantic side."

"I don't want them to see the bloody romantic side! There is nothing romantic about it! It's a pain in the fucking arse! I don't want a bloody _soul mate_, for christ's sakes!"

"…Yeah, let's call the girls. I'm not meant for this part."

"_What part_?"

He pulled out his phone and hit the speed dial. "Calm down, baby girl. I'll get them to bring some tea."

"_I don't want fucking tea_!"

"….You might be a little more unstable then I originally thought…"

"Oh, ya think?"

oOo

After I'd thoroughly scared Jay enough to make him scramble for backup, I felt better. Still shitty, but at least I was smiling and half feeling it. There was still an empty feeling, swirling inside of me, like it didn't know what it was there for, either.

But, I wasn't given anymore time to think on anything once my front door swung open, and the chatter of pretty female voices wafted into my kitchen.

I waited with hanging apprehension as the clack of heels came up the hallway and then finally, two wonderfully familiar faces popped around the corner.

"Aww, Evie." Were the first soft words to flow from CJ's lips, spoken as if she were cooing to a baby. "Honey, it's all gonna be alright."

Her soft brunette hair fell in ripply curls to the base of her shoulder blades, pinned back from her face on both sides with the little white flower clips that she always wore, a present from her father. Her huge, loving brown eyes blinked at me in concern, her makeup was noticeable but natural. The pale yellow sundress was crease-free and flowed to a perfect stop at her knees.

Claudia-Jane was the daughter of a very wealthy woman, was pretty loaded herself, and had had the upbringing of a last-century debutant. She was the embodiment of kindness, and just about everything else good in the world. She was so…_soft_. Until you put her in the field, then she'd shoot you if she had to. But _only_ if she _had _to. She was that kind of person, one who baked all the time and had a smile of gold.

Next to her stood what could only be described as her polar opposite.

Yasmine Frederickson was tough in every sense of the word. She looked tough, oozed tough like Jay oozed charm. She was pale, but had a spotless complexion. Short, at only 4'9. Naturally blonde hair, in a straight cut just under her ears, mixed in with the blonde was bright red streaks though. Her lime-green eyes were sharp and held a sense of calculation and hinted threat. Her sense of dress consisted primarily of scuffed trainers, calf-length army green cargos and a black and green striped halter top.

The bags both girls were carrying were set on the counter top before both swooped on me in vicious hugs of reassurance.

Jay smiled with satisfaction at his handiwork, and then proceeded to start rummaging through the shopping.

"Whose dumb-shit arse am I kickin'?" Yas asked in her slightly southern drawl as she plopped into a chair. "And why haven't you done it yourself?"

"Yasmine." CJ snapped, then sent me a look as she sat more gracefully into her own chair. "You know I blame you for her attitude, right? Violence isn't, and shouldn't be, the first answer to every problem."

"But it _is_ the easiest and funnest fix." Yas grinned cheekily, winking at me.

I grunted. "Why are you here and Tess isn't?" Since they were both seventeen and still in their schooling, it was very odd to find one without the other. Joined at the hip, those two.

Trouble with a capital 'T' shrugged. "It's the technical do-bop tests today. So I'm home free. I don't get that shit. I'm field material, not lab rat material."

"The hell…scented soap, Chamomile tea, _imported_ chocolate? Jesus, I said she was upset, not dying." Jay held up a box of the expensive brand of chocolate and frowned at it. "Ech. Girls."

CJ rolled her eyes. "I'm not even going to bother. We're not here to discuss that anyway. Jay said there was something that needed our attention immediately-so I assume that it really is important and your not just on your period or something and he freaked…?"

Jay snorted. "I did that _once_, and only because the chick was going _mental_…Can we please _not_ talk about baby girl's lady-issues while I'm in the vicinity? Thanks."

"Freakin' pansy." Yas muttered under her breath, picking absentmindedly at one of her nails as she watched me carefully.

I smiled and shook my head. "No. It's important."

CJ reached over and clasped my hand. "What happened?"

So, with Jay's help, I laid it all out again. From the beginning to the end, put in every detail I knew and they stayed silent until I was finished.

"Damn." Yas said after a moment as Jay handed the journal, which he'd since skimmed, to CJ. "…Damn. For _real_ for real?"

"Yes." I answered dryly. "For real."

"…Damn."

"Uh huh."

"Well…this is huge." CJ said, glancing at me over the top of the old book. "What do we do?"

I shook my head. Was I supposed to know? "I have no idea. We can't tell people-there'll be a mass panic on our hands."

"The wolves are not a threat to humans?"

"No, not initially anyway. They have volatile moods, extreme anger is what triggers their phasing, and apparently it takes time for them to come back into control. Those with the gene only being to change when there is a vampire presence anyway." Jay explained, placing a cup of the chamomile tea in front of me then taking the chair by my side. "From what we can tell, the gene is strictly limited to the Natives. There are no references to any others going through the same thing."

"Their all native." I confirmed.

"What about you?" Yas asked bluntly, as was her way.

I nodded slowly as three sets of eyes focused on me. "I have the gene, yes. My…cousin is the Alpha of the pack. From what I understand though, it's very uncommon to get a female wolf. At the moment, there's only one out of all thirteen wolves."

"Leah." CJ said softly.

"Yea…Leah."

"What about the Vampires?"

"We don't know much about them. Apart from the fact they are why the werewolves exist. They don't adhere to myth though. No bursting into flames in sunlight, crosses, holy water, churches, extra…doesn't work." Jay said, taking a careful sniff of his own cup of tea and then a small sip.

"So, not Buffy then." Yas smirked. "Pity, coulda been fun."

"I highly doubt that." CJ scrunched up her nose at the idea. "I don't fancy having the life sucked out of me, thankyouverymuch."

"C'mon! We're _spies_, we can totally kick any arse-mythical or _not_-that comes our way." A thing about Yas, she was very cocky, almost unhealthily so. Gotta admire her guts though, girl would jump into anything.

"Correction. We're three agents, one on restricted duties, and one _trainee_." CJ pointed out, giving Yas a scowl. "You are _not _qualified yet."

The seventeen year old glared at her. "I can do the work just as good. All I'm waiting for is a damn piece of paper."

"There are several pieces of paper, actually, Landmine." Jay winked at her, using his nickname for her. He has one for each of us.

"Shut up, ya smartarse."

"Guys, can we please be serious?" CJ frowned at them. "We need to…do…I don't know. Jesus H. Christ."

"Yup." I nodded. "Pretty much how it is. There's nothing we can do. We can't out them…just one more secret we carry. I doubt the weight of it will make much difference."

CJ squeezed my hand and smiled gently. "We'll all be together again soon. As soon as Maddy and Dan get home, we'll be full force and everything will be back to normal."

I didn't have the heart to tell her how much I truly doubted that. Nothing would ever be as it was before. After all, there were several people included in the _before_ who weren't included in the future.

"Now about this _imprinting_…"

"Which is a stupid term for it if you ask me." Yas mumbled.

CJ ignored her without skipping a beat. "I think that needs a little more discussion."

I bit back the urge to groan. "There's nothing to say, CJ. There's nothing anyone can do about it."

"That's true." Jay put in. "Imprinting is irreversible. Once a wolf has found his imprint, or soul mate, he-or she-will never partner with another. Not even if the imprint dies. In the case that happens, the wolf will follow. It's like a string is suddenly magically tying the two together, and if it's cut…then, well, I don't know. But I'm guessing it's not a good outcome for either party."

"…_She's everything, your world, your air, your life. A wolf's imprint, is his soul, his reason to live…_" I swallowed thickly, staring intently at the ripples in my tea caused by the slight quiver in my hands. "That's what he said to me. Jacob."

If I shut my eyes, I could perfectly picture what he looked like at that moment…scared, hopeful, honest…_no._

CJ opened her mouth, but I shook my head sharply. "_No._ I can't, not ever again. I don't care if it kills me, I can't do that again. I just _can't_, CJ, please…"

"Shh, it's alright, I won't make you. I can't make you. Your Eva Hanson, remember? No one can make you do anything you don't want to do."

I scoffed. "I don't know who I am now, or _what_, for that matter. What with these fucking mutant dog genes running around in my veins. That's just fucking brilliant, isn't it?"

"There, look, your still you. Nothing can ever change that. You're still the woman who would tear the earth apart from someone she loved. Still the woman who can hunt any motherfucker down, shoot better then anyone I've ever seen, drive like a maniac…still the woman who's tougher then anyone I know." Yas said firmly. "You're the sister I never had, Evie. No matter what, I know you're strong enough to survive anything. _And_ come out on top."

I smiled at her. "I thought that was Tess?"

"Nah. Tess is the genius sister I never expected. You're the sister I always wanted."

"What about me?" CJ asked, grinning.

"The sister who thinks she should be my mother."

The brunette reached across the table and cuffed her under the ear. "Shut your mouth."

"Aren't you forgetting someone important in this loving family moment?" Jay asked, one eyebrow raised questionably.

"Oh. Durh, of course. Maddy, totally the sister I needed. And Tams, the best crazy aunt ever."

Jay coughed. "And?"

"I've got brothers. Why the hell would I want more?"

"Landmine, that's not nice."

"Who the fuck said I was _nice_? Gimme their name, I'll whoop the lyin' wanker's arse."

"Would you please watch your language? What if Ben hears you?"

"Please, the kid is Evie's godson. What have I said that he probably hasn't already heard a million times?"

"Hey! I am careful with what I say around BB, thank you. But don't worry about it, he's down for the count, will be for at least another hour and a half." I said, finally relaxing in my chair and taking a sip of tea.

"See?" Yas smirked.

CJ just rolled her eyes. "Okay, look. You and Jay go start running research on anything you can find about werewolves, vampires and Native American legends. Let's do this properly, and find out exactly what we could be dealing with."

"…Huh?" I tilted my head to the side, confused. "Why?"

Jay and Yas had already risen from the table and were making their way up the stairs to my study.

CJ got up to and went to the bags of shopping and started unpacking it all and putting it away in various cupboards. "You've got the gene, Evie, honey. You were in their environment-you could've been exposed to…whatever it is. What if you _do_ have an active gene?"

I stared at her blankly. I'd never even given that a passing thought. What if I…

"Good lord, no. Surely not. I mean…fuck."

"Better we understand it as much as possible anyway. Even if you don't, it can't hurt. There's more then one Native tribe, too, Eves."

Now that wasn't something I had considered either. If the Quileute where descendents of wolves…what about the rest of the native population?

"Fuck." I muttered. "Why does everything just seem to keep getting worse and bloody worse?"

CJ hummed. "You've got us now, though. I will agree with Yas on the fact that when we're all together, there is probably very little we couldn't handle. This does _not_ mean I will ever willingly go hunting vampires though."

"Don't worry, I don't fancy it as a pastime either."

"Good…so, uh, Eves?"

"…Yeah?" Why did this not sound like it was going to be good?

"This…er, _string_, between you can Jacob…have you 'cut' it?"

I sighed. "No…yes. I don't know. I don't know what it takes to _cut _it. I left, does that count?"

"What I'm asking is; what's going to happen to you, and _him, _if you have?"

The question dropped on me like an anvil. _The wolves suffer without the imprints, and the imprints suffer without their wolves._

"I don't know." I whispered. "I don't know."

Silence fell on us then, the air suddenly felt like I was in a jungle at high altitudes just before it was about to rain. Thick, suffocating.

_Jake!_

I willed my mind to calm down. I shouldn't have been reacting anyway. _It's nothing_. I reassured myself mentally. I'd die if I had to have that sort of relationship again. To have so much trust in one person…to reveal to them, all the secrets I held, all the scars I'd received…I couldn't tell Jake any of that anyway. I was bound by my job, confidentiality was something that was never to be breeched.

We kill with what we know. But we are also hunted and killed for knowing it, too.

I could never be honest with Jake. I could never give him the partner that he needed and _why am I thinking this_?

I cannot go there. End. Of. Story.

My phone buzzed on the tabletop signalling another incoming text. I'd not long turned it on before the girls had gotten here, and deleted all the ones from Tasha without looking at them.

I'd forgotten to turn it off again.

Carefully, as if it were an unstable explosive, I picked it up and flipped it open.

_1 new message: Wayne_

I frowned, but relief washed over me that it wasn't Tasha again. Opening it, I took in the short message and my eyes widened.

"Uh, CJ?"

"Yeah?" She looked up form where she had started preparing some sort of meal. "What is it?"

"When is Maddy supposed to be home?"

"Last time Tammy gave me was three days. Why?"

"Um…there might be something else I haven't told you…"

**A/N: Apologies again for being late! But yeah, circumstances took a turn and I didn't end up with as much free time as I'd originally thought. My Grandpa is currently sick and in hospital, so we were down visiting him for 3 days, then we've had our shearing here to do, and we've also been getting ready to go to work tomorrow. Have to leave by lunch time. Busy busy.**

**Also, the next update will be a while off, sorry guys! Where I thought I'd have next weekend off, I've just agreed to work it 'cause my boss was short of people, and I **_**am **_**the fill in. So…yes. I promise the chapter will be up as soon as I can manage.**

**I really hoped you enjoyed this one, please let me know what you thought!**

**~Meg xx**


	24. Taking A Stand

**A/N:**_** Huge**_** apologies ****for**** the**** lateness**** of**** this!**** I**** was**** at**** work ****for**** a**** whole**** 2**** weeks,**** then**** when**** I**** got**** home**** I**** got ****fairly**** sick,**** so**** didn****'****t**** even**** go**_** near**_** the**** computer,**** and ****then**** my**** parents**** took**** us**** to ****the**** coast ****for ****a ****last**** minute ****holiday!**** I**** think**_** everything**_** in**** my**** family**** is**** doomed ****to**** be**** last-minute**** deals.**** Massively**** inconvenient**** for**** me,**** and**** I ****feel**** so ****bad ****for**** making**** you ****wait**** so**** long!**

**Thank****you**** so ****much **_**SasoLOVE111, TempusSimia,**__** MusicIsAlwaysThere,**__** Ravenclaw**__**Slytherin,**__** 'Lil**__**Obsessed,**__** sontiama,**__** kikikiki,**__** MozzaPinkly,**__** DraggonflyMaiden,**__** Wolf-follower,**__** MAMfanfic,**__** Happy2BeeMe,**__** dragonrain618**_** and**_** Some-chick-who-doesn'treview**_** for ****the**** reviews.**** I****'****m**** sorry**** I**** didn****'****t**** get**** around**** to**** replying**** to**** them.**** But**** they**** mean**** as ****much**** to**** me**** as**** always,**** (:**** Thank**** you,****massively!**

**. : Chapter 24 : Taking A Stand : .**

Claudia-Jane eyed me suspiciously and slowly lowered the cup of flour she'd been oh-so-carefully measuring to the bench top. "_What_ haven't you told me?"

I swallowed, suddenly nervous. This was more difficult then telling her that I had werewolf genes running through my veins. Strange.

"Well…"

"Evie, honey, honestly. What could be more terrible then what you've already told me? I mean, you just proved to me, almost beyond a doubt, that _werewolves,_and I repeat, were-wolves, _do_ exist. Seriously, sweetie, don't sound so worried." She gave a delicate little laugh. "Really, _don__'__t_. You're making me nervous."

"Sorry." And I was sorry, though I couldn't really bring myself to make the apology sound any less weak. "But…just don't do anything rash, okay?"

"Evie."

"Adamisbackinthecountry."

She blinked her bright, chocolate eyes at me several times, before carefully asking. "….What?"

I inhaled slowly and closed my eyes, trying to imaging the sweet, calming scent of pine trees and rain. The one that _used_ to work so well calming me down.

It didn't work.

Maybe I hadn't imagined it right? I knew that wasn't the reason, though. Any comfort that place had given me before, died with the trust between me and my past.

"Adam. Is back. In the country."

She was quiet for a moment, and very, very still. Like an animal that had suddenly been caught in the headlights of an oncoming truck. A speeding truck.

"You mean _Adam,_Adam, don't you?" She said, finally.

I nodded mutely, my eyes straying again to the text from Wayne.

"I…I don't understand, Eves. He's in America?"

"He's in Boston."

"_Boston?_"

"He landed in New York, he rang the agency, he'd have been here…He's looking for me."

"Oh god. Why's he in Boston, then, if he's looking for you?"

"We had our first date in Boston. He used to live there once. I liked the places he showed me, said I wouldn't mind living there, one day, maybe."

"Surely he'd know that…that he wouldn't be welcome here now, though. It'd be stupid to come back, every agency in the country has money on him, _dead__or__alive._"

"CJ, I was pregnant." I said boldly, more boldly then I had ever spoken on the subject. "Adam may not know I was caught in the explosion. And even if he does know that, he may not know that I lost the baby."

Her eyes widened dramatically. "Oh…_shit_."

"Yeah, 'oh shit' is correct."

She let loose a string of words her Mother would have scrubbed her mouth out for, and must've kicked the bench. Then she cringed and swore again. "If I get my hands on that _arsehole_…"

"You'll do nothing." I interrupted, frowning at her disapprovingly. "Adam is _my_ problem. I'm the one he hurt the worst…"  
"What about Joey, Evie? He'll _never_ _walk_again…"

"And I'll _never_ have children of my own. I'll _never_ trust another man that way again. I'll have to live with the pain, and the guilt, of _never_ holding my baby boy in my arms. Have to live with the knowledge that _I_caused that disaster. It's my fault Joey won't walk again, my fault Austria cut all alliance with America _and_Britain…My fault Oliver never took his first breath."

"What bullshit, girl! How the hell was that your fault? Adam pressed the detonator."

"Everyone knows that if it weren't for me, Adam and Joey wouldn't have still been here. It's because of me that he put in that request for them to stay on as permanent liaison. If we hadn't started dating, he wouldn't have been at that job, wouldn't have pressed that detonator, and wouldn't have fucked up so many lives. I can take the blame, CJ. I need to take the blame."

"_No_, you _don__'__t_. _It__is__not__your__fault_. We've been through this before, for god's sake!"

"It doesn't matter how many people tell me that. How firm you are when you say it. You can't stop making me believe that it wasn't, _isn__'__t_, my fault." I growled. "You can't make me stop feeling how I feel. It's not a little button you can press when you don't like the channel I'm on! You think I _like_ feeling this way? That I _chose_ to be like this? Of course I didn't! It's just how I am! It's what two years worth of trauma has done to me. What all those years in training did, what all the death of my Daddy did, and his abandoning me, and my parents fighting did to me…I was fucked up long before I started field work."

"Evie, please…"

"No! I won't shut up! I'm _tired_ of shutting up! That's all we do, is be quiet! Keep this secret, and this one, and this one…doesn't matter how bad they are. 'There were four civilian casualties during the op. Oh dear, how awful, but oh well, we got our target or our information, those dead _innocents_ lying in the street don't matter. Don't let that get out, now, will you?' That's all we hear, CJ!" I stared down at my hands, remembering. Remembering the losses that shouldn't have occurred, the families whose hearts _I_ had to have broken when I shot their relatives.

Just casualties of a bigger war, I was told at the time. It was a speech that was memorised by superiors and used over and over again. The same time that those families were being told that their children, their flesh and blood, had been so unfortunately killed in a freak fight between local gangs. We never took the blame for those things. That's why I had to take it now. So many times when I had _deserved_it, it was always hushed up and brushed aside. Like those people didn't matter.

Their blood would always been on my hands, no matter what the news headlines claimed to be otherwise. No matter how many times I washed. I knew the truth, and the truth is the hardest thing to live with.

"Sometimes…" I whispered. "I like being lied to. It's _so__much__easier_ that way…your told what you want to hear and you move on with your life, happy, free…pity now, that I wouldn't believe anyone if they_did_ tell me what I wanted to hear."

"You wouldn't like being lied to, hun." CJ said gently. "It's not nice then, when you do find out the truth. It hurts more then. And you do find out the truth, Evie. It has a way of making itself known eventually. It may take years, but the longer it does take, the more it hurts when it does appear."

I 'hmm-ed' in response, dropping my phone back onto the table and my head into my hands, massaging my temples slowly. I knew I knew she was right. Deep down.

"It's going to be alright, hun." She said softly. "You'll see. We'll sort this out."

"You see?" I looked up at her, expression void. I didn't know what I felt anymore. "You're telling me what I want to hear. I don't believe you."

oOo

Jay and Yas both reacted in the way I had expected them to. Lots of swearing and cursing and furniture kicking. I had to yell at them for kicking my desk though, that thing cost a hellofa lotta money.

A new string of choice words flew from Jay's mouth like icicle daggers as he glared holes in the study floor. "If that fucker thinks he can get any where near you…"

I shrugged. "He's a spy as well, Jayjay."

He looked at me, eyes so dangerous my breath hitched. "I'm a better one." He sounded so sure, so deathly calm, I'd have really thought twice about taking him on if I'd been an enemy. Thank the heavens we _weren__'__t_ enemies.

"Why didn't you tell us as soon as you found out?" Yas demanded, her almost-legendary temper turned up full tilt. She was young, hot headed, _silly_ almost. She had to learn to think before she acted. But be damned if she wasn't good.

She'd come from a bad home, bad neighbourhood, fought a lot even as a child. Abused, angry. She'd been discovered in a similar way that I had, as most spies were discovered. We were chosen, very young, and offered places at the academies.

Originally, I was chosen for my brains. I was getting perfect grades at school and it had caught their attention. I would've been a tech agent, like Dan or Tyler, but it had become apparent very quickly that I also had a lot of talent in the field.

And let's face it, field agents die a lot quicker then tech agents, so new ones are always in demand.

Yas had been chosen for her skills in combat. I suppose _they_ found her though the various police reports and complaints from other kids' parents. Her parents, mother and step-father, had only been too pleased to ship their only daughter away. I knew that hurt her, more then she'd ever admit. But it went without saying that she was better off away from that place.

I shrugged again, lounging back in my big leather office chair. Clasping my hands and resting them in my lap, hopefully to stop them from shaking. "I knew what you'd do. I want…"

"You don't know what you want." Jay said, harshly.

I glared at him. I realised then I didn't know how he'd been discovered. Where or what age, or what for. "Don't snap at me. That's irrelevant, anyway. Maddy was the one who found out he was here."

"How can it be fucking _irrelevant_, Eva?" He glared back, determined. "What are you going to do? Take him in again?"

"_No!_"

"Then will you kill him?"

"Yes…No…Urgh! I don't know, okay! Jesus!"

"But what will you do?" Jay pushed. "He's wanted by the country. If anyone else finds out that you know and haven't told them…you could get yourself into a lot of trouble for this. You can't run into this head first, Evie. You have to _think_."

"Personally, I don't give a fuck what _they_ think anymore. I think it's my right to deal with Adam however _I__see__fit_. And I told you, didn't I? What're you gonna do, turn me in?"

"Do _not_ accuse us of disloyalty, Eva." CJ snapped, sounding so unlike her normal pretty self. "Don't you dare, understand?"

I smiled, not a particularly nice smile either. "If they do find out, you're all risking your careers, before they've even begun even."

"We're aware of the consequences." Jay said, folding his arms across his broad chest. "But we all know the agency will screw us over if they see it in their best interest. We'll be better off if our loyalty is to each other first. All units are the same. We're good, while we're assets. But ultimately, we're just chess pieces. You love the work, like we all do, but you trust the agencies to much."

"We're not graduated yet, but." Yas frowned.

"I do not trust them that much, Jay! They were gonna leave me for dead, remember?"

"Does that matter, Landmine?" He asked, winking at her, ignoring my comment. "I say our little group is pretty unstoppable, if we put our minds to it."

"Hang on a minute, we're not launching a fucking rebellion here…" I cut in, confused.

"I'm just preparing." Jay replied smoothly. "Don't fret, baby girl."

I watched him carefully. "You sound like your preparing for a fight."

"If they think we're going to go AWOL, they will try to stop us."

CJ narrowed her eyes. "By any means necessary. Good spies are only kept alive as long as their chained. If we drop out, they'll kill us to keep us from ever possible becoming an issue."

"All the more reason for you to keep out of this and let me deal with it."

Yas snorted. "Yeah, right, like that's ever gonna happen. Like numb-nuts here said, we've got each other's backs. If it were the reverse situation, would you sit out?"

I was quiet, because I knew the answer. _Of__course__I__wouldn__'__t.__You__'__re__my__family._

Yas smiled brilliantly, like she'd won the lottery. "You see?"

"Get Maddy on the phone." Jay ordered. "I want her and Dan-the-man home ASAP. Get connected to all the security cameras in Boston where shitface might go. Let's find the fucker. Get onto Ty, too. We'll be needing an electronics genius. Better pull Tess from school, too, as soon as her exams are finished."

Yas raised her eyebrow at him. "Any thing else, your majesty?"

"Yeah, go get me a latte. Carmel, lots of cream. Oh! And some biscuits."

She snorted. "Fuck off."

"You're _so_delightful."

"I _will_ kick you in the balls, you know. I'm not above that."

oOo

I went in to check on Benny. By some miracle he was still fast asleep, Mutt was laying flat on his back next to the boy, snoring.

I'd just left their room when my phone rang, nearly making me jump out of my skin. Carefully, I checked the caller ID and couldn't stop myself from groaning.

Great. Just what I needed.

CJ stuck her head out of the study as I continued to stare at the cursed device and weigh up my options.

"Who is it?" She asked, cautiously.

"My mother." I announced dryly. "I forgot she was in New York, she wants to catch up."

My dear friend cringed, sympathy evident. "Sorry hun. You'd better answer it though. You know what that woman is like. It might do you some good to get your mind of this other shit for a little while, too."

"Mmm." Still didn't make it any more appealing though. I'd rather take my bikes out.

"Is someone gonna answer that bloody phone or not?" Jay called from inside the study.

It stopped ringing. I cringed.

"Call her back, Evie." CJ urged. "You can't avoid it forever. She'll only get worse the longer you avoid her."

I nodded and trudged down the stairs to the lounge room and made myself comfortable in one of the lounges, before reluctantly calling the woman back.

"Evangeline." My mother's crisp voice answered after only the second ring. "I was beginning to think you'd forgotten how to answer a phone."

I swallow. "Sorry, I was…in the shower."

"Mmhm. Anyway, at least you _did_call me back. How are you, darling?"

"Oh, you know…the usual."

"Are you unwell?"

"No."

"Good. You'll be able to meet me for lunch, then. That delightful little Italian place I like so much, you know the one?"

"Yes, but…"

"Excellent. Twelve. Don't be late. Goodbye, dear."

"But, Mum, I…" The line went dead.

Snapping my phone shut, I dropped it onto the seat next to me and messaged my temples. "Great, just bloody brilliant. Lunch with mummy-dearest. Thank you, universe, for proving that you really do despise my guts."

**A/N: And the twists keep coming! (Hope you don't mind too much!) What did you think? Please review and tell me, this time around I'll try to get back to you!**

**I**** wanna**** thank**** all**** those**** for**** the**** well**** wishes ****for**** my**** Grandfather.**** I****'****m**** extremely**** relieved ****to**** report**** that**** he**** has**** been**** improving ****and**** is**** finally**** out**** of**** hospital ****:). ****On**** other**** news, ****it****'****s**** looking**** likely**** that**** we**** will**** have**** to**** move**** again,**** as**** the**** place**** where**** we**** are**** living ****is**** looking**** like**** it**** has**** sold.**** So,**** once ****again,**** my**** life**** will**** be**** tossed ****in to**** utter ****chaos.**** I**** have**** a**** week**** until**** I**** go**** back ****to**** work**** and**** then**** I****'****m**** supposed ****to**** be**** going ****away**** for**** a**** month ****to**** my**** best ****friend****'****s.**** But**** who**** knows**** what**** I****'****ll**** be**** doing**** when,**** now**** with**** the**** moving ****development.**

**Good**** news ****is**** that**** I**** managed ****to**** get**** quite**** a**** lot**** of**** writing**** done**** while**** at ****the**** coast,**** must****'****ve ****been**** the**** sea**** air?**** Anyhow,**** I**** have ****a**** few**** chapters**** already**** written,**** so**** the**** gap ****between ****updates ****will,**** hopefully,**** be**** much**** shorter.**** I****'****ll**** try ****to ****only ****have**** them ****be**** 2-3**** days**** apart so**** yeah.**** But**** my**** parents**** are**** talking**** about**** moving ****pretty**** much**** as**** soon ****as ****we ****get ****home,**** which**** will**** really**** take**** up**** my**** time.**

**I promise that I'll do everything I can to make up for this wait though! Know that I am trying, it's just difficult. **

**Thank**** you**** so**** much ****for**** your**** patience,**** and**** now**** with**** this**** ridiculously**** long**** AN ****I****'****ll**** leave**** you**** be,**** haha.**** It****'****s**** also**** midnight**** and**** I****'****ve**** been**** in**** the**** car**** for**** more ****then**** 12**** hours,**** so,**** sleep**** is**** required.**** Hope**** your**** all**** well,**** enjoyed**** this**** chapter**** and**** in ****less ****stress**** then ****I**** am!**** Lol.**

**Lots a love, **

**~Meg xx**


	25. Family Heritage

**A/N: I warn thee now that there is many a new twist in this chapter…hopefully it'll work! **

**Special****thanks****to**_**Ravenclaw-Slytherin,**__** littlegreenmonster,**__** kiki,**__** Feng**__**Yue,**__** SasoLOVE111,**__** TempusSimia,**__** dragonrain618,**__** 'Lil**__**Obsessed,**__** Puckabrina**__**Alee,**__** 1sweetmoment**_** and**_** MusicIsAlwaysThere**_** for**** the**** beautiful**** reviews!**

**And apologies for the last chapter, where all the italics were stuck together…I have no idea why this happened, since it definitely wasn't written like that.**

**Hope you enjoy this one!**

**. : Chapter 25: Family Heritage : .**

I scrubbed myself three times from head to toe in record time, then took to my hair with the blow dryer before twisting it up into a neat but simple French bun.

I really did despise these once-in-a-blue-moon meetings with Mother.

The woman was _impossible_ to please.

There was always something wrong with how I looked, how I acted. It was constant scrutiny! It was worse then spy-training, I swear.

I chose a plain white dress shirt and black dress pants. She'd have been happier with a skirt, but although the wound on the back of my leg was practically healed, it was still noticeable, and that, I did not need.

Thanking the gods that I didn't currently have any pimples to cover up, I stuck with just mascara and a clear lip gloss. I thought about wearing Daddy's necklace, but ultimately decided against it. Least Mother enquire as to where I'd gotten it from.

It was an unspoken rule with us. We did not speak about Daddy. Ever.

"Okay, guys." I said as I hopped into my study, in the process of pulling the low black heels on. "Hopefully I won't be long…"

"Hey! Listen to this!" Yas cried excitedly, banishing the journal in my direction as I straightened, wriggling my toes in the damn shoes. When the troublemaker was sure she had all our attentions, she cleared her throat and read. "'_It__ still__ amazes__ me__ how__ quickly __we__ heal.__ It__'__s__ only__ been__ a__ week__ since__ the__ Cold__ One__ broke__ Levi__'__s__ leg,__ and__ already __it__'__s__ almost__ perfectly__ healed._' That's incredible, right? I mean, whole-lee-_shit_!"

I nodded my vague agreement. "From what I gather, the wolves are just about indestructible. Now, I've really gotta go or I'll be late meeting her holiness. Benny's still asleep, don't trash anything. I shouldn't be to long. I can't imagine either of us being to keen on being in each other's company for any great amount of time."

Jay nodded. "It's alright, baby girl. Sure you don't want me to drive you?"

"I think I can manage. Thanks."

"Just be careful, alright?"

"Yes, Mummy."

"Don't insult me."

I smiled at them and waved. "Bye."

They called their farewells before returning their noses to whatever they'd been reading before I'd come in. With a dejected sigh, I made for the garage with a glance at my phone for the time. Eleven-thirty. Hopefully I'd have lots of it.

oOo

Traffic wasn't too bad, despite it being so close to the lunch hour. Finding a parking space at the little Italian restaurant wasn't a problem, either. It was one thing I almost liked about Mother. She did have an astounding talent for finding the nicest places, that didn't come with massive crowds.

I locked the Enzo and dropped the keys into the purse I'd spent a good ten minutes rummaging around my room looking for, and went into the restaurant. Sometimes I wonder why I bother trying to appear half-ways respectable to her, but then she'll give me a lecture and I'll remember. Better to make an effort and spare my ears the torture.

It was still ten minutes to twelve, so my shock at spotting the inducer of my worst migraines as soon as I walked in the damn door, was probably pretty obvious.

She was calmly settled at a two-seat table towards the back, well out of the way with as much privacy as was possible in a public place.

Jacqueline Sonnet looked exactly the way she'd looked the last time I'd seen her. Which always made me suspect she had some surgical help with that matter. She was supposed to be forty-three now, yet there was not one wrinkle. She could've passed for thirty, easily.

Her corn-coloured hair was twisted up in a similar fashion to mine. Her outfit, an elegant black dress with three quarter sleeves, was no doubt designer and ridiculously expensive. Even from here I could see the jewels hanging around her neck and dangling from her ears and wrists. She was reading something atop the table, magazine, menu, I couldn't tell from here.

Steeling myself, and trying not to turn tail and bolt, I attempted to not appear so tense and wearily approached the table. It was similar to the feeling I got when I knew I was walking into a fight, only it was usually a tad more stressing engaging with her.

She looked up as I was just a few steps away and we locked eyes. Green and green.

"Hello, Darling." She smiled, her voice sounding more like warm honey in person then over the phone. It had a slight accent to it, European, that I hadn't noticed during our brief conversations. "You look…well." She was frowning at my appearance, I knew she didn't really think I looked _well_. Hell, I probably didn't.

"Mother." I tried to smile, honest I did.

She stood and gestured me to her. She pressed her lipstick painted lips to either of my cheeks and embraced me somewhat awkwardly.

"You're early; I was not expecting you to be." She said as she pulled back and gestured to the other chair as she sat again. "Sit, child."

"I didn't want to risk being caught in traffic, and being late." I replied as I carefully lowered myself into the plush red chair, tucking one ankle behind the other and putting all my etiquette lessons into practice. I'd never have thought them to be so useful in real life.

She waved a finger at me as she picked up the menu she'd been looking over and handed it to me. "You always were the smart one. Drink?"

"What are you having?"

"They do have the nicest white wine here."

"You order then. Wine isn't really my forte."

She laughed- a melodic tone that gave people the wrong impression about her. "Oh, my dear, very well."

After waving a waiter over and asking for a bottle of wine, whose name I dare not try to repeat, she looked back at me.

"So, how've you been, Eva?"

I shrugged, and then mentally cringed. She hated it when we did that. "Um, busy, I guess. Working mostly. You?"

"_Stunning_. You really should join me in Europe, darling. Such gorgeous places. And the cultures!"

_Not__ likely._ I thought dryly. Though I was surprised, _gob__smacked,_ that she'd even offered. "Is that where you've been?" I asked, genuinely interested. "I thought you were in England?"

"One can only go so long with seeing the sun, darling." She laughed. I could barely remember the last time she'd laughed this much. Something was amiss here; this wasn't how our meetings usually went.

"England has its appeals to, of course. But Europe has always been my favourite."

I nodded, and smiled vaguely at the waiter as he returned with a fancy looking bottle and two crystal wine glasses.

"Thank you." I murmured softly as he finished pouring mine. The guy was good looking, the kind I usually went for. Dark eyed, nice physic, but when I looked at him I felt…nothing. No interest.

Raising the glass to my lips, I took a careful sip, contemplating. _Don__'__t __think__ about __it!_ It was fruity, the wine, somewhere in-between bitter and sweet. It was nice.

When I raised my eyes again, I found Mother watching me, an odd look in her own set of emerald green orbs. It wasn't her normal looking of scathing scrutiny.

It unnerved me. She wasn't being how I remembered her.

Can you get personality transplants? Even if you could, I'd highly doubt that she would. Last I knew, she enjoyed being a bitch.

"What?" I asked, nervous.

She sighed and lent back in her chair, her own glass in hand. "Do you like it?"

I nodded. "Yes. It's not bad."

She smiled, running one perfectly manicured, unpainted finger around the rim of the glass, her eyes never leaving mine. "The world is not a perfect place, dear. It never has been so, nor will it ever be."

I blinked, surprised. "Uh, I know that, Mother." _Better__ then__ most,__ I__ dare__ say._

"There are many a hidden secret in the histories. _Your_ history, in particular."

I froze, white panic shooting though my veins. _What__ did__ that__ mean?_ "I…don't understand…What?"

"Child, try to control your stubbornness for _once_ in your life. Listen to me; we have _much_ to talk about." She hissed in a lowered tone. As if she feared we would be heard.

I frowned. "Mother, what's this about? ...You weren't just in town, were you?"

She scoffed lightly, finally looking like the woman I knew. "Of course not, darling. You know how much I dislike America. I came only to see you."

"I don't know if I should be honoured…or terrified."

"You have your father's sense of humour." She announced dryly. "Nevertheless, he is the reason you're here."

I scrunched up my nose. "Ew, Mum. I know how people come to be."

"Evangeline," She gave me a pointed look. "I wasn't talking about babies. I was referring to the reason why we're _here_, today, dear."

"…Oh."

She chuckled, amused by my sudden attack on blondeness. "First, we shall eat. Then I think it best we take this conversation outside. There's a lovely little park just around the corner. I think a stroll would be nice, don't you?"

"Uh, okay?" I sipped the fruity wine again, wishing for something stronger. "Mother, you're confusing me, you know that, don't you?"

"Yes, dear."

"Is that your general aim in life, or, do you just enjoy it?"

"Evangeline, don't get catty with me, child. I haven't given you any reason to be upset with me. Yet."

I scoffed. "Please, Mother. You've given me a good ten years worth of reasons to be _upset_ with you. And for the record, I don't like the sound of _yet_. Maybe I should just leave now…"

"You'll do no such thing!" Mother snapped, irritated, automatically making me lower myself back into the chair from my half risen position. "You need to hear what I have to say to you. It's…time you learnt your true heritage." She didn't seem terribly keen about the idea.

I regarded her cautiously. "Excuse me?"

She narrowed her eyes at me, and then shoved a menu under my nose. "Don't pretend to be ignorant, girl. We both know you're much cleverer then you let on. I did not raise stupid children. Now, order so we may get this over with."

I rolled my eyes as I took the menu. "What? Sick of me already? That was quick."

"Do you always have to be so difficult?"

"Probably. I am _your_ daughter, after all. It's highly likely that it's genetic."

"Such insolence. Your manners haven't improved any, obviously." She paused, and smirked. "Though, I have no one to blame but myself. It _is_ in your blood. Women in our line were never meant to be followers. I'd say you turned out rather well, but I doubt you'd believe me."

I kept my eyes glued to the menu, in hopes she wouldn't see the small smile it brought to my face. It was so _stupid_. I'm pathetic enough that I have parental issues. That's just sad. "You'd be right, because it'd be a compliment, and you don't give those to me. Or anyone, as far as I'm aware."

"It's true I don't often say things I don't mean. There are enough lies in the world as it is, without me adding pointless little comments to it. That should make when I _do_ compliment all the more special."

"I'll admire you for that, Mum."

"There, see? I've pleased you." She looked mightily pleased with herself. "You never call me _Mum_ unless you're happy with me."

"Or tired." I muttered dryly. Which was becoming more common these days. "I thought you didn't like being called Mum?"

She inclined her glass to me. "There is no difference in between being called Mum or Mother. One is simply more formal. You know I'm old fashioned."

"Ah."

She laughed again. "Oh, darling. You can be so blinded once you get an idea in your head. You will see no reason to the contrary until it smacks you in the face. If I'd been bothered by you calling me your mother, I'd have made you call me Jacqueline."

"Right." Okay, so it's embarrassing when your mother one ups you.

She waved a waiter over again. "Ready to order?"

It obviously didn't matter if I was or not, the boy was coming _now._ I just nodded and skimmed the options again, deciding on just a lasagne and salad. Mother got some odd sounding pasta dish and then she dismissed the boy with a regal wave of her hand.

"So, you've been out to La Push." She said a few moments of blissful silence later. She wasn't asking either, she _knew_.

"Tasha been talking to you, has she?"

"No. I haven't heard from your sister in about three weeks."

"Then how did you…"

"Not important at the moment, darling. I also take it that you _know_?" She blinked her big eyes at me inquiringly, her voice dropping a few decibels.

My own eyes widened, realisation leaping out to grab me by the throat. "_You_ knew?"

She tittered at me. "Of course I knew about them. I married a descendant, did I not?"

My surprise slowly began to morph into anger. "Then you told Tasha, why not me?"

"Don't take that tone with me. I was not the one who told your sister, you have your Grandfather and the last council to thank for that. No one, not even your father, knew that I knew. But what matters now is that _you_ do."

"How did you find out?" I asked, my anger receding slightly. Still annoyed that she hadn't told me before now, but at least she hadn't just told Tasha and not me. My moods were going to give me whiplash.

She levelled me with calm eyes. "How did you?"

We stared at each other for a moment, before I sighed and gave in to go first. She obviously wasn't going to budge.

"Daddy left me a journal. Written by our great uncle during the time he and his brother went through the…the _change_. I confronted the rest of them and they admitted it."

She frowned. "Odd, that they would do so, so easily. It's a very heavily guarded secret."

I fidgeted, and she noticed.

"What is it you are not telling me?"

"…Would it make them more inclined to admit it if I'd been Imprinted on?" I asked softly.

Her eyes widened, and she muttered something under her breath that I didn't quite catch. "Yes, that'd make them more cooperative."

"Right…well, then, that's why they admitted it so easily."

She sighed heavily. "What is his name?"

I scrunched up my nose. "Jacob goddamn Black." _Of__ whom __I__ am_ not_ thinking __about__…__at__ all._

"_Black_? The _Alpha_?"

I frowned at her. "No. Samuel's the Alpha."

This made her frown. "But that's not right. The Black's are _always_ the Alphas. It runs in their blood."

I gave her a dry look. "How am I supposed to know how it works? I read part of the book, yelled at them, and left. End of story."

"You never had a high tolerance for secrets, did you? And always so hot-headed, so passionate. Perhaps you have more of me in you then I thought."

_Which__ is ,__ironically__ enough, __ironic._I ignored her second set of comments though. "No. Especially not when I was privy to them."

"Ah. Well, my darling, I have more secrets for you, and you're not going to like them."

"Goodie. Can't wait."

She continued to watch me carefully until the same waiter appeared from the doors I supposed led to the kitchen, two dishes balanced neatly on a large silver serving platter.

"Yes well, it's a good thing you are my daughter."

"Why's that?"

"We're very tough-skinned. Eat up, and we'll take that stroll."

oOo

After our meal, Mother paid for it and promptly left the restaurant, leaving me to scurry after her. The park was where she said it'd be, and was just as deserted as the restaurant was. Which I dare say was the whole reason she'd chosen it.

"The werewolves aren't the only kind of magical beings on this earth, darling." She began as we went along the cement path that winded between little feature gardens and larger trees.

"I know." I mumbled. "Apparently there are Vampires, too."

"You are better informed then I thought you'd be." She mused thoughtfully. "But it does not end with the Native's legends. There are others."

"…Others?" I asked slowly, wearily.

She cast me a glance out of the corner of her eye and smiled slightly. "Yes, darling."

"Oh great! Just what I bloody need." I kicked at a stone on the path. "What's next? Fairies? Trolls? Giants? Mermaids?"

"Fairies, yes. Also called the _Fey_, they prefer that. Trolls, giants and mermaids, no. I'll never understand how men confused giant squid with half-human, half-fish creatures. They really do have the strangest imaginations."

I was gawking at her. "_Fairies?_ As in, Tinkerbell?"

"They come in a range of sizes, darling, and have a very complex society."

"Of _course_ they do." _Marvellous.__ Just__ bloody__ marvellous._ "Anything else I should know about?"

"Wicca, though more commonly known as witches to humans." She smiled, wistfully. "So many stories over the centuries have destroyed the traces of truth. So many versions of the one thing…it becomes awfully confusing after awhile."

"Brilliant." _Major__ sarcasm, __but__ at__ least__ I__ wasn__'__t__ freaking __too__ much,__ right?__ Yeah,__ right.__Tell__ that__ to__ my __sanity._

"There may…be _other_ kinds, but it is not anything you need to delve into, darling."

"Sparing me migraines now? It's a bit late for that, don't you think? Maybe if you said Angels it wouldn't be so bad." I scowled, not really meaning it. I didn't want anything other then humans on this earth.

"Be careful what you wish for. Just because something has a name of purity, does not mean it is_pure_. If there _were_ indeed Angels, then there would be the chance they'd be fallen ones, whose allegiances may have changed." She gave me a serious look. "You should know to be cautious of everything, dear. And that not everything is as it appears."

I stared back, feeling very cautious and suspicious at the current time. "I was kidding, I don't want any of them! You…You seem to know and awful lot about this, Mum."

"I should. I _am_ a Wicca."

…

"Oh for fucks sake." I glared up at the sky. "Why me? Can't you go and complicate someone _else__'__s_ life?" I looked back across at Mother, who was watching me with an arched brow. "You're a _witch_?"

"I prefer the term 'wicca', but yes, it's the same thing." She looked like she'd continue, but stopped. "'Tis a story for another time, my child."

"Witch genes and werewolf genes, _great._ Like I didn't have enough problems already. Thanks, Mother."

She rolled her eyes and continued walking, making me realise only then that we'd paused, and left me to again scurry after her.

"Don't be so dramatic. It's not the end of the world."

"Oh yeah? And if I one day explode into a giant slobbery dog? Will the world end then? And what about you? What delightful family traits can I possibly expect from you?"

"You won't phase, darling. You would've, had I not altered your powers when you were still growing inside me."

That stunned me. "I…I…Your gonna have to explain from the top, I'm not comprehending anything. You cast a _spell_ on me?"

She chuckled. "Yes I can see that. Shut your mouth, dear. You look ridiculous. But yes, I cast a spell on you to bind any active powers you would've received from myself or your father. You'd have probably phased by now if it weren't for that. You inherited more from your father, obviously. I was hoping you'd be more like me, but…it wasn't to be."

"I would've been a wolf?"

"Yes. You still are. It's just…hidden, most of it. Your faster, stronger and tougher then a normal human, you hear better and you see better. Not enough so that it would be noticeable, but enough that it sets you apart."

"I heal faster." I whispered, mind mulling it over.

"Yes."

"But…why bind it?"

She raised her eyebrow at me again. "You _want_to be a giant slobbery dog?"

"No, of course not, but…I want to know why _you_ didn't want me to be."

She hummed and pulled me down next to her on a little iron and wooden bench in the shade of a great oak tree. "Once you're a wolf, you're tied to that horrible little place. Most never leave. I despised it there. I didn't want that restriction for you. I bound the wolf and its instincts so you could be free to make your own choices. I didn't have this problem with Tasha; she has neither active wolf nor wicca genes. It's so rare with daughters, I thought you'd be safe too, but you weren't."

I was quiet for a moment, then, slowly, I reached over and slipped my hand into hers. "Thank you." I murmured softly.

She squeezed my hand and smiled at me. "It's alright, darling."

"Mum? If you hated it there so much, why did you stay so long? Or even marry Daddy in the first place?"

"Oh, my darling. I did love your father. As strange as it were, he would've been a wolf, too, if there'd been Vampires in the area. Wicca very rarely mix with other magical beings, we're so old a race that grudges run for centuries. We also believe more in pure-bloods, as half children are at a greater risk all their lives. But I loved Oliver…and the traditions didn't matter to me anymore."

"Why you leave him then?"

She looked up, to the branches over our heads, the leaves rustling in the gentle breeze. "I knew he was ill. I could feel the disease under his skin. I told him, I could cue him, if he'd let me take him to the older wicca. But he wouldn't, he refused to. Stubborn man, he could've lived!"

She was clenching her hand around mine so tightly, I was half afraid that it'd loose the circulation and drop off.

"Why wouldn't he go?" I asked, feeling more miserable then I had before. "Didn't he want to stay with us?"

Mother snapped her eyes from the trees to me faster then lightening, and it even looked like it flashed within them. "_No_, Evangeline." She laid her cool hand against my cheek. "Don't think that, darling. Your father loved you more then anything. More then his own life. He would not go to the wicca, because he feared what would happen if they found out about you and Tasha. He was afraid they'd want too…for being what you are. It was understandable. But I could not stay there, and watch him die when I knew he could be saved. And he did not wish you to see him so sick; he didn't want you to remember him like that."

"That's what the fighting was about."

She gave me a sad smile. "Yes."

I sighed. "Why didn't you tell me any of this before now?"

She patted my leg gently. "You weren't ready to know. I wouldn't have chosen to tell you now, either. But the damn wolves changed that for me."

I sniffed. "I have a right to know."

"I never said otherwise. You'd have just handled it better if I'd gotten to tell you when I knew you were ready to hear it. You will handle it now, of course, but it could've gone better."

I shrugged. "I figure I'd have flipped no matter when you'd told me."

She smiled wryly. "Yes, I dare say that would've been a probability. And there's more."

I sighed. "There's always more."

"Until the end."

I stared at her, mouth open. "Did you just…make a _joke_?"

She raised both eyebrows. "I did marry your father, didn't I?"

"Who are you and what've you done with my Mother?" I demanded.

She laughed. "Don't fret, darling, you'll hate me again in a minute."

I think I sagged. "And I was enjoying us getting along for once." _How__ easily__ I__ hoped__…__you__ are__ not__ this__ weak,__ Eva!_

"You'll always have family, my darling. Never fear being on your own, it's something you will never have to face." She said, tucking a stand of black hair behind my ear that had escaped the bun.

"I have a knack for getting rid of people. Or choosing the wrong ones and having them turn on me."

"Your friends will not turn on you, darling, don't fret."

_I__ want__ parents!_ My mind pleaded. _I__ want__ a__ Mummy__ I__ can__ run,__ crying__ to.__ Who__'__ll__ kiss__ me__ and__ hug__ me__ and__ tell__ me__ it__'__ll__ be__ okay! I want to believe it will be.  
_

"I know _they_ won't. It would've been nice if no one else had, either."

"You're my daughter, you'll be fine."

"Mm. Thanks for the confidence." _No__ one __can__ see__ what__ you__ feel,__ the__ facades__ are __how__ you__ survive,__ remember?_ Inner voice whispers echoed. _They __will__ prey__ on__ your__ weaknesses._

She chuckled, then sobered and became the serious looking business woman I remembered coming home from the office when I was younger.

"It's about Samuel."

I nodded.

"He's not your cousin-"

"That's the best damn news I've heard all week." I grinned widely at her, but it faded when I took note that her expression hadn't changed.

"No. He's your brother."

**A/N: Okay, well….I'm nervous about your reactions to this chapter, to be honest. I wasn't planning this when I'd first come up with the story idea, but when I was writing it just…uh, happened? It has given me a whole heap of new ideas though….**

**Thoughts? Please, please, please let me know what you think of this. The rest of the story has sort of become based on this so…god, it feels like the first chapter all over again, lol. **

**Next**** one ****shouldn****'****t**** be ****far**** off.**** It****'****s ****kind**** of**** turned**** into**** a**** stalemate**** situation**** here.**** No**** one****'****s**** doing ****anything**** until**** they**** know**** what**** everyone**** else**** is ****doing,**** ha.**

**Hope you enjoyed it, and leave me your opinion (: **

**Love**

**~Meg xx**


	26. Tangled Webs

**A/N:**** OMG!**** 18 ****reviews?**** O.O ****Holy ****fish**** sticks! ****I****'****ve**** never**** gotten**** that**** many ****for**** ONE**** chapter**** before****…****It****'****s ****insane!****(But**** I**** LOVED**** it!**** :D)**_** 215 **_**all**** up****…****I****'****m ****speechless****…****Just****…****wow!**

_**dragonrain618,**__** amongthestarsx,**__** kikikiki,**__** Ravenclaw**__** Slytherin,**__** SasoLOVE111,**__** 1sweetmoment, **__**brightglo,**__** TempusSimia,**__** MozzaPinkly,**__** Mythical**__**Words,**__** MusicIsAlwaysThere, **__**RealWriter,**__** 'Lil**__**Obsessed,**__** LunaJadeNyx,**__** MAMfanfic,**__** Mystery**__** Person,**__** Reena**__** Catheryn **_**and**_** Wolf-follower**_**…****I ****can****'****t**** express**** in**** words ****how ****much**** your ****support ****means,**** thank**** you**** just**** seems ****such ****a**** bland**** response****…****but**** THANK**** YOU,**** a**** million**** times**** over!**

**I sincerely hope you enjoy this chapter as much.**

**. : Chapter 26: Tangled Webs : .**

"_He's your brother."_

If I'd been the type to faint, I'm pretty sure I would have.

"He's my _what_?" I demanded, on my feet, clenching and unclenching my fists. I can only assume that I looked pretty pissed. Yeah, unfortunately for everyone else, I've never been the damsel kind of girl. "You _cheated_ on Daddy?"

My anger skyrocketed, to the point where I wouldn't have been all that surprised if I'd breathed fire. Hey, with the rate things are going, maybe I'm part dragon too?

"Evangeline." Mother frowned at me disapprovingly. "You really should start waiting until you've heard _all_ of a story before you start _overreacting_. I was _not_ unfaithful to your father, _ever_."

"Then how…?"

She reached out and snagged my hand in hers, pulling me back to the bench and down beside her. I was so numb and confused that I simply let her.

"I never said Samuel was your _half_-brother."

"I don't understand, how can he be…"

"I fell pregnant before Oliver and I had married." She started, dropping her eyes from my face down to our joined hands. She began idly tracing a finger over mine. "Joshua and Allison were already married, and had been trying for a child for months without success." She paused here, and smiled sadly, running her finger lightly over a small scar along the inside of my index finger.

"I was scared then. Never had I had anything to do with anyone who wasn't Wicca. Nor had I ever felt the things I was feeling for Oliver. It was all so strange and _forbidden_ to me. It might surprise you to know that, once, I was afraid of breaking rules. You got that habit from you father."

I squeezed her hand, and took a breath, trying to let my anger and insecurities go. _What __would__ it __take __for__ me __to__ be__…_happy_ again?__ To__ not__ feel__ this __anger?_ I'd noticed that the older I got, the more anger I seemed to retain. 

_Anger __like __that__ of__ wolves__... _

"Everyone is afraid of what they don't know. Some just channel it differently."

She chuckled softly. "Perhaps, darling, perhaps. But Oliver saw that I was not ready, he told me I could get rid of the child, if I wished it." She looked up at me then, her eyes piercing mine. "I could not kill the babe. But I could not keep it, either. I performed a ritual, in secret, that transferred the fertile embryo from my womb, to Allison's. Giving them their first and only child, Samuel. Not what I'd have named him but…"

I blinked. "This Wicca crap is even more confusing then the werewolf crap. But here I was thinking you were the devil's mistress. That was a very big sacrifice to make, Mum."

The smile she gave me did not reach her eyes. For the first time since…well, since I could recall, I felt sorry for the woman next to me.

"It wasn't, not really. Not to me, anyway. I was relieved I was no longer the one to carry him, no longer the one who would be responsible for him. I know it cost Oliver, though. I know he wanted that child, but he gave it up for me, because I was not ready. It was he who made the sacrifice, not I. and one day, I'm sure you'll understand the '_Wicca __crap__'_. That day is just not this day."

"Did he know?" I asked softly, trying to bring myself to understand all of this, trying to open my mind to the reality of werewolves and Wicca. When would that day come? I didn't really know if I wanted to understand it or not, though I loathed being confused. It's not easy accepting, let me tell you, especially when I didn't _want_ it to be real. "Did Daddy know what you did?"

She shook her head. "No, not in detail…But I…I think he suspected what I'd done. He gave me his permission to get rid of the babe, and the next day, I was no longer carrying him. Then a week later, Allison informed us she was pregnant. Somehow four weeks along, yet she hadn't known until mere days ago. Your father was a smart man. He knew that Allison should've been unable to have children. It was common enough knowledge, or rumour as it were, little places like that _thrive_ on gossip. And when they had no more afterwards…Yes, darling, I think, deep down, that he knew what I'd done."

"I think Daddy would've been happier with that then if you'd just aborted, er, Sam." I frowned. "Though I can think of a few times in the past, and probably right now, that I might've wished that you _had_. Insufferable _git_ that he is. And that was when he was my cousin! Now I have to think of him as a brother? Swell."

She chuckled. "Hush, darling. You wished for no more secrets, so, I'm giving you what you want."

"I could've done with a few things kept to yourself, Mum." I informed her dryly. "My life is plenty complicated enough on it's own without you helping." A tanned male face appeared in my mind; smiling as if he'd seen the sun for the first time…I shook my head to dispel the image. How many times had he smiled at me like that?

_Yes, definitely plenty of problems._

Mum just gave me knowing look. "Yes, yes I will agree with you there. You've weaved yourself quite the tangled web, haven't you, my child?"

I stared at her suspiciously for a moment, tempted to tell her that _I_ hadn't been the one to weave it. These _issues_ of mine weren't really self inflicted…not _all_ of them anyway.

But I dismissed saying that and instead murmured. "Why do I get the feeling you know more about me then your letting on?"

She pushed her large sunglasses up her nose a tad and stood, beginning to leisurely stroll along the practically-deserted path again. "Because, darling, I'm your mother."

I fell in step beside her. "I don't like it when people know things about me that I did not tell them myself. I prefer my secrets kept close and as quiet as possible."

"This is a reason why you stress so much, darling. You have far too many secrets, and your being a hypocrite. You do not wish secrets held from you, yet you will tell none of your own? Anyway, I would still be able to tell, even if I was not Wicca and have _other_ help in such matters."

I tensed. "_How_ can you tell?" _Weakness,__ weakness,__ weakness!_

She paused, mid stride, and looked at me, sliding the glasses down her nose so she could peer at me over the top of them. "It's in your eyes, my darling. They are…so _haunted_, so lost. They tell me what you feel, even when it does not look like you are feeling it. You'd have been an astounding actress." And with that, she kept walking, heading back to the car park.

Slightly stumped for words, and remembering again why I avoided this woman's company so much, I trotted after her. That wasn't entirely true, or not this time around. I had almost enjoyed lunch and our walk. I don't think we've spoken so much and on such friendly terms since before Daddy and she split up. I'd learnt so much in the short hour and a half we had been in each other's company.

Admittedly, I could've done without learning _quite_ so much. But it was nice to know that she had loved Daddy, and that their whole marriage wasn't some kind of joke or the got-the-girl-knocked-up kind of marriage. And Sam was my brother? And I've vowed never to speak to him, or my sister, ever again. And now we'd actually have something to discuss. Go figure.

I'd been so lost in my own thoughts that I hadn't realised we'd made it back to the restaurant and were now standing next to a sleek, silver Porsche 911 that I realised stupidly was Mum's.

"Nice car." I muttered, running my fingers over the smooth surface of the hood.

She shrugged. "So the sales man told me. I know little of cars and such technology, I come from a little different era, darling."

"When?"

She smiled wryly. "A time before Porsche was invented. Never ask a woman her age, dear."

It made me smile, and I nodded. "So…is this it? Will you go back to Europe now?"

"So keen it get rid of me?"

"Surprisingly, no. I actually wouldn't mind if you stayed a while…" I bit the inside of my cheek, wondering what had possessed me to admit that.

Mum smiled and approached me. "I would stay, darling, but I have a plane to catch this evening and a meeting to attend tomorrow in Rome. Never fear, though. I will be back. And I hear they do have phone service in Rome, all you have to do is call."

I was shocked to realise how disappointed I was that she'd said no. "Okay."

She tilted her head to the side and brought up a hand to stroke my cheek. "You know, for all I have succeeded, I believe I failed where Mothering was concerned. I regret that. And I commend you and Tasha for turning out as good as you have, for growing up yourself."

I blinked, unsure why my vision was blurry. "You taught me the important things." _Lessons __hard__ learned,__ but__ learned__ nonetheless._

She kissed my forehead. "My special one. You have so long to go before you find your peace, but persevere, my daughter, and it will be waiting for you. You life is your own, you will always have the right to choose. It is the way I wanted it for you. But if ever you need something else, I can unbind your magic, if that is what you want."

"I don't want that." I said quickly. _No,__ no,__ no,__ no,__ no.__ No,__ I__ don__'__t__ want__ that_.

"_If_," She emphasised. "It is simply an option that is there for you. Be strong, my darling girl, you'll not fail. Oh. I almost forgot. Here, take this." She reached into her overly large handbag and pulled out a round pendant on a long, gold chain.

"What is it?" I asked, reaching out to take it from her. I ran my fingers over the design carved into the otherwise flat golden surface. My eyes widened when I recognised the design as being that of the pack's tattoos.

_Eyes of melted chocolate, boring into me…_Stop! It!

"It will help you understand, darling."

For the briefest of moments, she embraced me tightly in a hug that warmed what remained of my soul. Then she was releasing me, kissing both my cheeks and unlocking her car.

"But, Mum! What if…" I called after her, feeling panic clutch at me. "What if I need help, or to know something else? What if…"

"You know all you need to know to get through this, darling." She grinned as she slid into the car. "Besides, I believe you _do_ actually have my number."

And with that, she wasn't there any more. I stood there, like an idiot, watching the flash of silver disappear around the corner.

"My life just gets better and bloody better." I muttered to myself as I forced my body to remember how to move and started over to my Enzo. I clenched the pendant tightly in my hand. "Half Wicca, half werewolf, a full-brother, and fully insane. _Fan-bloody-tastic_."

At least now I was on speaking terms with my Mother…

oOo

When I got back to the house, I found it livelier then what it had been when I'd left it.

Tess had arrived and Benny was awake. Currently, Yas and Tess were chasing the three year old around and around the living room, while he squealed in delight and Mutt yapped excitedly at their heels.

CJ was back in the kitchen, having returned to her cooking, and she smiled at me when I came in.

"You don't look half bad, actually. I was expecting tears. Or fury…" She said to me as I dropped my purse on the table and slung my coat over the back of a chair. "How'd it go?"

"It was…different, to say the very least."

"As is, different bad?" She asked, cautiously, pausing in her stirring.

I shrugged. "I haven't quite decided that yet. What're you making?"

She banished the wooden spoon, which had thick mixture dripping off it, at my nose. "Choc-chip cookies, and no, you can't have any until their cooked."

I poked my tongue out at her, and she quickly retracted the spoon. But I wasn't Yas, I wasn't likely to try and lick the thing while she still had hold of it. "You take out all the fun. You know the mixture is better then the end product."

"Not with_ my_ cookies, it isn't." She pinned me with a hard glare, to which I held up my hands in defence and surrender. No way was I taking on the wooden spoon. Do I look stupid? …On second thoughts, don't answer that.

"Alright, okay, I'm leaving."

"Good."

I chuckled as I left the kitchen, only to nearly collide with Jay as he was coming down the stairs, phone tucked between his ear and shoulder.

"Woah, hey, baby girl." He reached out and steadied me, then pressed a kiss to the side of my forehead and grinned.

I was about to answer him back when he frowned and took the phone in one hand. "No, man! For gods' sakes, werewolves! I _said_ werewolves, and I _meant_ werewolves! _Were_-_wolves_!"

My eyes widened in panic. "Jay? What are you _doing_? Who are you telling?"

"What? Hang on, hang on! Baby girl, calm down. I'm just gettin' it through Tyler's _thick__ skull_ that I mean actual human-change-into-wolf werewolves and not rabid dogs or anything." He paused and Ty must've said something else to him. "_No_, Tyler! I thought you were supposed to be some sort of genius? I've _told_ you, they don't phase under the moon. The lunar cycle has nothing to bloody do with it!"

"Why are you yelling at Ty?" I asked dryly, feeling much calmer. I'd be in big enough trouble as it was if _they_ ever found out I'd talked, without the whole damn agency finding out that werewolves and vampires do exist.

_Wonder __what__ the__ punishment__ for__ breaking __that__ little __rule __is?__ Bet__ Samuel__ would__ go__ berserk._ The question as to what Jake would think also entered my mind, though I didn't acknowledge it. I had to _stop_ letting him in my head! Was he doing this on purpose? Was it some kind of voodoo shit that went with having some idiot imprint on you?

"Because he's being a complete idiot!" Jay snapped back, then sighed dramatically. "He says hello."

I smiled, mentally shaking myself out of my thoughts and having to take a second to remember what conversation I'd been having. "Hey, Ty. Tell him I found that little extra on my baby, tell him it rocks."

Jay opened his mouth, then closed it, then growled like a dog. "Look here, you hick lab rat, I _said_…"

I don't know what else was said, because Jay turned and marched back upstairs. Bewildered, I wandered back into the kitchen and sat down.

"What in the name of all that's good and holy is going on?" I asked CJ, who was now making little balls out of her mixture and half flattening them on an oven tray. "I leave for two hours and return to find the place has become a nut house?"

She chuckled. "We're just having some problems convincing Tyler that we've not gone crazy. We need him to get a message _exclusively_ through to Maddy and Dan. We'll also be needing plenty of equipment, and whatever else Jay has in mind to request of him."

I pulled at my fingers, cracking my knuckles. "I really don't want you all to get caught up in this-what if it goes pear shaped?"

She shrugged, pressing the little balls down with a fork. "Then it goes pear shaped. We know the price, Evie. Don't worry about us. We're family, through and through. Ty is only having trouble understanding the _other_ side of things. Werewolves apparently don't fit anywhere in any of Darwin's books."

Tyler was a man of science, and science didn't believe in such things like magic.

I half-smiled. "Poor guy, as if Ty doesn't put up with enough crap at the best of times…"

"Hey, give him a lab and he'll be happy…providing Jay doesn't explode while he tries to explain things." CJ giggled. "We've explained the whole situation to Tess, to, by the way. In case you were wondering."

"Oh thank god. I really didn't want to have to go through that again. D'you know how difficult it is to tell someone something mythical actually does exist?"

She gave me an amused smile. "I can imagine. And I'd say Jay is finding out…"

We both winced and giggled at the string of most un-gentlemanly like language that drifted down the stairs.

"I don't think it's going very well…"

"Ah, you know Tyler." Yas announced as she dropped, puffing, into the chair next to me. "He's as stubborn as an ox."

"It's because he's from Texas." Tessa Ashfield said, smiling cutely as she sat down with us, too. Tess would tease occasionally, but she'd never mean anything nasty by it. She was the softest, quietest spoken girl you'll ever meet. With her dark skin and dark brown eyes, 5'3 and more brains then the average professor, Tess was quite the girl.

At the moment, her black hair supported blonde streaks. They were green when I'd last seen her. Shy to a fault, but still a teenager, still young in the mind.

"Hey, Tessie, love the hair, girl." I grinned at her.

She smiled at me, almost shyly, as was her way. "Hey, Evie. I missed you."

"Missed you, too, believe me."

"Yeah, the guys told me all about your, uh, holiday?"

I chuckled, but there was no real humour in it. "Next holiday I go on, I think I'll take overseas."

She grinned a bit. "You did always have the habit of bringing home the oddest souvenirs."

"What can I say, it's a bad habit."

"Right, well." We all looked up at Jay as he slouched back into the kitchen, dropping his phone down with a glare and taking a seat on my other side. "Tyler Johnson is the most difficult person I think I've ever had to deal with."

I laughed. "But did you get through to him?"

"Of course I did," He said, seeming offended. "I'm me, am I not? I'm brilliant, of course I got though to him. It just took longer then I'd thought it would."

I rolled my eyes.

"He'll get a call through to Mads and Dan ASAP and he's gonna work on some new weapons for us, and pack us up a few little care-packages while he's at it."

"New weapons?" Yas asked, intrigued.

"What for?" CJ demanded.

"Ladies, please." Jay held up a hand. "Current weaponry won't hold up against our _discoveries_, so I've left the idea with Ty."

I frowned at him. "You won't be needing new weapons, Jay. We're not going to the res anytime soon."

"I wasn't referring to your relatives, baby girl." He reached over and clasped my hand in his larger ones. "I would never go hunting them down. Unless they did something to really piss me off. But there are other _things_ out there, and I'd rather be prepared for everything. Call it piece of mind."

"You're not going hunting for _anything._ Besides, the magical community is just about indestructible." I reminded him. "It takes a hellofa lot to take down a vampire, they need to be ripped up and burnt according to the journal, remember?"

He smiled. "I don't think they'd go very well if someone were to hit them with, oh, I don't know, a bazooka. Do you?"

I smirked and shook my head. "You're such a trigger happy moron."

"Yep. And proud of it." He grinned back.

CJ sighed, and then muttered to herself. "And I wonder why Yas is like she is."

**A/N: So…. What's the verdict? Hope you enjoyed that one :)**

**Thank you all once again for the feedback on the last chapter, it was better then I'd ever thought :) Please keep it up, it's the best encouragement! **

**Wishing you a lovely time, where ever you are and whatever time it is,**

**Love, **

**~Meg xx**


	27. Lost Wolf

**A/N: I got a suggestion to do a Jacob centric chapter, (thank you :D) so, here we are :) It's more of a filler, and I can say that the wolves won't really feature for a few chapters yet. **

**Muchas gracias _Reena__Catheryn,__ Ravenclaw__ Slytherin,__ SasoLOVE111,__ TempusSimia,__ xxxNinaxxx,__ 1sweetmoment,__ RealWriter,__ MusicIsAlwaysThere,__ 'Lil__ Obsessed,__ kikikiki,__ dragonrain618_ and _Wolf-follower_ for the wonderful reviews (: **

**Hope you like!**

* * *

**. : Chapter 27: Lost Wolf : .**

_JACOB'S POV_

I was lost.

I couldn't feel anymore. I couldn't feel anything _except_ the pain that burned inside me, like I was standing in the middle on an inferno, flames all around. No way out. The smoke was so thick I couldn't see through it.

I didn't even know if I remember _how_ to feel anything else anymore.

Everything is so…empty without _her _here.

Evie. _My __Evie_.

My wolf prowled, furious that she wasn't with us, desperate to have her.

As I ran, all I could see in my mind was the look in her eyes when she'd left me standing there, staring after her. It hurt worse then having every bone in my body crushed by newborn blood suckers. Did I make her feel that way? Did I cause her that pain?

"_I__ believe__ you.__"_ She'd whispered, so softly, yet I'd still heard her. I could see the tears that had been pooling in her beautiful green eyes. All that pain, _should__ not_, have been inside someone as lovely as Evie.

For every moment that she'd cursed me, hit me, yelled and glared at Sam and Tasha. The hateful things she'd said, I knew she wasn't like that. It was just a mask she wore. Why, I didn't know. And I _needed_ to know. The clawing, desperate need inside me to go and find her, hold her, make her see…it was killing me, being away from her. Every second was worse then the last, more excruciating. Every moment seemed to bring closer my insanity, and end.

I needed her, could feel myself dying without her.

But I didn't go. If I was this desperate to find her, then she was doubly desperate that I didn't. And she would always come before anything I wanted. I'd do anything for her, even if that meant I sacrificed the one thing I needed more then air to breathe. My life was nothing compared to hers.

_I love her!_

And I'd never forget that look of sheer, unbound terror in those stunning eyes when I'd told her. It, too, was burned on my brain like an ugly brand. It kept coming; I kept seeing the cursed scenes replayed over and over. On the rare occasions that I slept, they were all I dreamed.

Her face…I regretted it more each time.

I snarled, furious with myself. Why had I done this to her? Why? How could I have hurt the one person I treasured above all others so much?

It was my loving her that brought her the most fear. She was afraid of love.

_I__ will__ never__ make __her__ afraid__ again._

If I ever even saw her again.

If being away from her had done one good thing to me, it was that I'd gone back over every moment I'd been near her, watched her. Forced myself to relive even the bad times, made myself focus on anything other then her eyes. They revealed more then she'd have ever said, and I always looked to her eyes first, even in my memories.

To rethink all the things she did and said…the cold bitch she tried to make people see her as, it was all just a mask, a wall she'd built to keep out anyone looking to get in. Trust was obviously a big issue, and I knew damn well that I'd shattered that. If she'd even had any in me to begin with.

She didn't hate her sister, or even Sam. Not until those last few moments, then I was pretty sure that she'd have killed them herself if she'd been given the chance.

It was like she'd been betrayed. Which, I suppose, she probably had been. I never knew that Tasha knew about us.

"_I know what you're going to say, and you're **wrong**! You're wrong…."_

She'd been shaking her head, her whole body quivering in panic, trying to make me stop talking. I'd tried, but Sam had Alpha ordered me to tell her. Leah had gotten frantic, trying to get him to undo it. She'd known that what I had to say would hurt Evie. She'd known how my girl would react.

Leah had promptly refused to go wolf after that. She avoided the rest of the pack like they had the plague. Couldn't blame her, I'd done the same thing. Only I hadn't been _human_ since my life had left.

_Ran. She'd ran, couldn't get away from you fast enough._

But Leah knew things about Evie, things that I, and more then likely no one else, knew. For the first few nights I'd prowled around outside the Clearwater's place, knowing Leah was inside.

She had to have known what I wanted, and she had.

On the third night she'd appeared on the back step, still human and wrapped up in a fuzzy dressing gown even though she didn't need it.

"I'm not stupid, Jake." She'd said at normal tones into the darkness, looking directly where I'd been standing. Sue was asleep and Seth was out patrolling, it was pitch black without light from the house or the moon.

I went and sat in front of her, the cold-hearted bitch we'd all whined about having to deal with. The only girl who could kick our arses before Evie had amazingly proven that she could, too.

She looked so…so vulnerable now. She looked guilty and tortured, kind of how I felt. Though I was undoubtedly worse, I was Evie's _soul__ mate_.

I didn't go to close though. I knew I was unstable, and though Leah had something I wanted, I wouldn't hurt her. She'd only hurt me back. And although a good fight sounded pretty appealing, I didn't need a Leah arse kicking. She'd probably be only too happy to hand me one.

"I won't tell you her secrets." She continued, and I couldn't help the growl that rose in my throat.

She glared at me, looking more like our Leah. "Don't snarl at me. I'm not going to. That's why I'm not phasing, I don't want to risk not being focused and letting anything slip. I've betrayed her once. I won't do it again…even if she never found out that I did."

I was angry, but I forced myself to see reason in her words. My wolf was going berserk. So I was right, Evie felt like we'd betrayed her.

"She's a very complicated person, Jake." Leah muttered. "You'd go ballistic if you knew…knew what she'd been through. Sam's worst mistake had been telling her about the imprinting. She's not ready for something like that, you _have_ to understand. She might not_ ever_ be ready to accept you, not because you're a wolf, but because of the soul mate thing. You know the saying 'once burned, twice shy'? Well, Evie's goes more like 'once burned, never again'. End of story."

Someone had hurt her, badly. Someone she'd been in a relationship with.

My blood boiled. Whether because another man had been near her that way, or because he'd made her what she was today. Broken.

_I__'__ll__ fix __her_. I vowed. _I__'__ll__ make__ her__ happy__ again._

I imagined her reaction to me telling her that, promising her, swearing on my life…she'd probably hit me and tell me she wasn't a car. It made me smile. _That__'__s__ my__ girl._

"Now will you stop stalking around like an axe murderer?" Leah asked me pointedly. "I'm sorry for you, Jake, honestly I am. But there's nothing you can do. Evie has to work through this on her own, or she'll never accept it's true." She gave me a tired, sad smile and stood, going back into the house, leaving me to the darkness and my thoughts.

I knew now, that she would never accept it if I went to her. This must be done solely on her terms. It had to be her choice. My wolf understood that, too, and stopped driving me to track her down.

No, my Evie wasn't a bad person. Maybe _she_ thought she was, but I knew otherwise. And eventually I would convince her of it too. You only had to watch her when she was with Ben. She adored that little boy so much it made me jealous, of a three year old. And no bad person could ever have a child love them as much as Ben loved her.

Sam had tried to force me to phase back after a few days, but I'd somehow been able to ignore his command. To everyone's shock, I'd imagine. But he didn't matter anymore.

Besides, I had him to blame for a good half of my current misery. If I'd thought I'd been on the brink with Bella…well, that had _nothing_ on this.

So I ran. And ran and ran and ran until I'd exhausted myself. I could no longer hear my pack brother's thoughts, though I'd managed to pretty much block them out anyway. I was so deep in the wilderness that I couldn't sense people for miles.

I wasn't even sure where I was. Canada? Alaska? I didn't know and I didn't care. I needed the freedom of my wolf, needed to be alone. For a while at least.

Eventually I turned around and started back. I couldn't bring myself to call it home anymore. Home was where ever she was, and I didn't _know_ where she was. Therefore, it made sense that I'd not know where I was.

I knew Billy and the others would be worried about me, but they'd understand. Only one thought brought me back.

_What__ if__ she_ did_ come __back?_

I prayed that she would.

She _had_ too.

I knew I wouldn't be able to find the will to survive without her.

* * *

**A/N: It's short, I know. But I'm not very used to writing Jake's POV, and I'm not entirely sure if I got it right…**

**As it turns out, I'm going to be home for an extra day now, soo there might be another chapter up before I leave on Sunday afternoon. If not, then the next one will be the weekend after. Which I _think _I'll be home for. _Think._ Lol. I really don't know what I'm doing these days. Plans keep changing, things keep coming up and plans change again…I'm sick of it, really. It's driving me insane. **

**Anyhow, lol, I really hope you enjoyed this one. Please review and lemme know what you thought :)**

**Love, **

**~Meg xx**


	28. Up is Down

**A/N: Hiya guys! Home again, after the longest week of my life! This one's a long chapter, make up for the little wait :) **

**Super thanks to _Ravenclaw__ Slytherin,__ SasoLOVE111,__ RealWriter,__ Reena__ Catheryn,__ TempusSimia,__ amongthestarsx,__ kiki,__ Wolf-follower,__ MusicIsAlwaysThere,__ dragonrain618,__ 'Lil__ Obsessed,__ Puckabrina__ Alee,__ 1sweetmoment,__ Happy2BeeMe,__ Azalia__ Fox__ Knightling,__ Al,__ MAMfanfic,__ Ana_ and_ Rebeccaaaa_ for the reviews! I _love_ knowing what you think!**

* * *

**. : Chapter 28: Up is Down : .**

_I don't know what I'm feeling, anymore. _

_I don't know if I should be angry, or sad, or pleased. _

_Nothing makes any sense. My world has been turned on its head. Up is down, down is up. _

_The things I have believed for so long, don't apply to me anymore…._

_I'm so lost…and scared._

I took my eyes from the faded pages to stare out my bedroom window. Biting my lip and tracing my fingers over the pendant Mum had given me, I sighed. Great uncle's words were beginning to match my current situation, on a scary level.

I hadn't told the others about Mum's visit yet. I'd claimed to be tired and without a word they let me retreat to the quiet of my room. I hadn't been lying, I was still tired, but sleep was not something that would come to me until my mind stopped working over time.

Instead I'd just sat in this position, curled up on my window sill, leafing through the journal, for hours. I wasn't sure of the exact time, but the city outside was currently a-glow in the last warm rays of the sun.

No, I couldn't sleep, but at least I was semi-calm. Not on the verge of another break-down. I was really hoping I'd run out of those.

When my door handle turned and the barrier slowly opened, I didn't jump, just calmly turned my head and waited for the person to appear, slipping the pendant into the pocket of my jeans.

I was surrounded by a house full of other spies; intruders were really the least of my concerns at the moment. Not that that knowledge had stopped me from placing my favourite handgun, loaded, within quick reach. Old habits die hard. Or not at all.

But it was only Jay's head that popped around the corner, and upon seeing me, he sighed and came into my room.

"I had a feeling you wouldn't be sleeping." He said gently as he crossed the carpeted floor and lifted my feet so he could sit down on the other side of the sill. He settled my feet back into his lap.

I shrugged. "I am tired."

"I know. I can see the dark circles under your eyes."

"The nightmares claim me when I sleep, Jay. Not that my brain would let me sleep now, even if I tried. I can't make it stop working."

He gave me a smile, one that told me he understood completely. I was aware I wasn't the only person who was prone to being kept awake at night. "It'll be alright in the end, baby girl. We'll _make_ it alright."

"I don't know what I'm going to do." I admitted, honestly. "About anything."

"I know. You'll know once you've done it."

"It's not smart, to just fly by the seat of your pants." We'd been lectured for hours about laying out a carefully planned plan before we ever made any moves. Snap decisions were necessary, but were only advisable when prior planning simply wasn't possible.

Jay shrugged and grinned cheekily. "Hasn't killed us yet, has it?"

"There's a first time for everything."

"You'd only be half as depressed if you started thinking positively, you know."

"I usually try not to lie to myself. Everyone else; fine. Me; no."

He chuckled, and then his eyes were drawn to the journal. "How'd it go with the she-devil?"

I sighed. "Things got more complicated, as per the usual. I'm half wicca as well. I _would__'__ve_ been a werewolf without a 'binding spell', and Sam-the-jackass-Uley is _not_ my cousin."

Jay just stared at me. "Well…at least the last part was good news?"

I shook my head. "Nope. It's actually worse. He's my brother instead."

"Hang on; what the hell is a Wicca?"

"The different but preferred term for a witch."

"Witches?" He was doing his eyebrow thing again.

"_And_ fairies, as it turned out."

"This just gets weirder and fucking weirder, baby girl." He murmured with a shake of his head. "So you're half werewolf…and half…wicca?"

"That about covers it, yeah."

"Fucking _hell_."

"Uh huh. But I won't ever have 'active powers', as my mother called them. She put a binding spell on me before I was born, and it trapped my wolf side and whatever else magical that might've been floating around in me, so I'm pretty much just normal."

"I sense a but, why do I sense a but?"

"_But_, I am slightly advanced from normal humans. I'm a little bit faster, stronger, heal quicker, you get the picture."

He blinked at me. "I always thought you were wicked quick."

"Yeah, well, now you know why."

"Cheater."

"Hey! I've bled for you, buddy. I still get hurt and shit, remember."

"I was only playin', baby girl!" He assured me, quickly, giving me the feeling he didn't want to see anymore of my break-downs either. Typical guy, was our Jay, didn't deal with female emotions. "D'you want me to tell the others?"

I shrugged. "Honestly, I don't care. The latest news makes no difference to our situation. It doesn't matter what my blood is made up of, if I'm not going to be any different to what I am now. If you want to explain it, you can, if not…I really couldn't be bothered at the moment."

He nodded. "Understandable, but, maybe you are keeping to many secrets, hmm?"

"I'm to exhausted, Jay. To drained to give a damn."

"Want me to give you something, to help you sleep?"

"I don't want drugs. I'll sleep when I'm ready to sleep."

"If you become a danger to yourself, I will make you take something." He warned.

I nodded. "Fair enough."

He sighed. "I can never win with you, can I?"

I half-smiled and brought my knees up to my chest, wrapping my arms around them. "Jay-Jay, I don't think anyone can."

"Tyler rang back." He said after a moment's silence. "Got through to Mads, she and Danny will be on the first plane home."

"Good." A little of the weight on me lifted. My partner was coming home. Maddy would straighten things out; she'd know what to do.

"Did your mother say anything else about the mythical critters?"

"Not really." I murmured. "I get the impression that she isn't very fond of the wolves. She wasn't overly thrilled when I told her about Black. But apart from that…she just spent the time explaining to me what I was, and things that led up to her divorce with Daddy. Nothing else that might be of use to us. But, Jay," I fixed him with a stern look. "We're not going vampire hunting. Just because we know they exist now, doesn't make us Buffy's, okay?"

He held up his hands. "I wasn't planning on it. You know me; I like to have the upper hand on any enemy that I might come across."

"You promise?"

"Cross my heart and hope _not_ to die." He grinned.

I giggled a little. "Alright, then. I suppose it couldn't hurt, though I don't think much in the line of weapons will do any good. You'd really want to talk to someone else who knows something about them. And before you suggest it, _no_, I will not be speaking to anyone from my damned past about it for you."

"I wouldn't have dreamed of suggesting that."

"Liar."

"Well, maybe. But I knew what you'd have said, so I didn't bother."

"I shouldn't have told you guys about them in the first place, by tribe laws. Outsiders aren't permitted to know."

He grinned at me. "Everywhere you go, you've always gotta break the rules, don't you?"

I smiled. "Where's the fun in keeping them?"

oOo

Twenty-four hours later, my front door was thrown open and my partner and best friend marched inside. Her husband, with all their luggage, trudged in behind her.

Maddy said nothing as she walked straight up to me and pulled me into a tight hug.

I hugged her back just as tightly.

"Hey, Evie." She murmured, pulling back to hold me at arms length to inspect me properly. "My god, you look shocking."

I chuckled, relieved to hear that slight English accent again. I looked her over as well. She was well dressed, as always. In a cream coloured short sleeved button down shirt, grey dress pants and matching grey jacket. Her mousy brown hair was pulled up in a high pony-tail and her pale complexion was as spotless as it always was.

I was wearing a pair of baggy dark blue trackies and a peach coloured hoodie, my hair was loose and only haphazardly brushed, and my skin tone wasn't as 'warm' as it usually was, according to CJ.

"And you look perfect, like always." I grinned at her.

She flicked my nose. "You usually are, too, madam. Have you been eating properly? You seem thinner…and paler?"

I jerked my head in CJ's direction. She was watching us from behind the kitchen counter. "She's here; of course I've been eating properly."

"Have you been sleeping?"

"No." No use in denying it. There had to be someone out there that I didn't have to lie to, right?

"That explains some of it, then."

"Hey, Danny." I smiled at the computer tech as he dropped all the bags he'd been carrying just inside the lounge room. "You survived, then?"

"Just." He muttered dryly. "I hate field work."

Daniel Livingston was tall and lanky, with short blonde hair and pale blue eyes. No one else expected to find him anywhere near the field, either.

Maddy rolled her eyes at her husband. "Stop being such a wimp. You weren't even shot at, for gods' sake."

"I was in the building when they infiltrated it." He protested. "That was plenty close enough, thankyou."

The rest of us laughed.

Maddy smiled at the rest of our team fondly. "It's always good to come home again, though. Thanks for pulling strings to get us here so quickly."

"No worries." Jay said. "I didn't have any real desire to do this on our own."

"I'm going to take that as a compliment to our abilities, and not you being a smartass, Jay." Maddy said crisply, raising an eyebrow at him. "Tyler has filled us in completely, so we can get straight to work."

"Yay." Yas muttered flatly. "Maddy's the slave-driver from hell." She mock-whispered to Tess, who, until now, has never really worked exclusively with us.

Tess gave her a gentle shove. "I know Maddy, too, you know."

"Girls." Maddy warned, and then she turned back to me. "Where's my son?"

"Guest room, fast asleep." I replied. "I think he's taken my share of slumber."

"There is such a thing called sleeping pills, you know."

"I don't believe in having to take drugs to sleep, Mads. Jay's already given me this talk anyway, so we can move onto the next call of business."

"Okay, then. Well, our sources tell us that Adam has left Boston, and apparently, just dropped off the radar." She announced.

There were collective groans. It wasn't unheard of or even surprising that he'd managed to do this. Any good spy was capable of disappearing. He'd already proven his talent for it.

"It's not possible that he has any friends left in America?" CJ asked.

I shook my head slowly. "I never knew of him having contact with anyone not in similar lines of work to himself. If he has civilian friends, I don't know about them."

"And all friends he might've had among our community will either do everything they can to capture him, or just shot him on sight." Dan said, pulling a manila folder out of a black briefcase and handing it to Jay. "The warrant for Adam's arrest, if you want to see it. He's not very well liked."

"I could've told you that." I said flatly, taking a seat at the table and watching the others follow suit. "We all know what happens to traitors."

"Yes, well…" Maddy said, tapping his fingers against the table top. It had been, at one stage before we partnered up, her job to track down rogue agents, and silence them. "They want to talk to Adam before disposing of him. He's wanted alive, but dead will do if it's either that or let him escape. We might have bigger problems then Adam at the moment, anyway."

I tensed. "Like what? We've already got government wanted ex-boyfriends and other-worldly-creatures on our plate. Do I _really_ need any more stress?"

Dan produced another folder and placed it in front of me with a grimace. "I'll apologise in advance for this, Evie. I do hate being the barer of bad news."

I stared at it for a moment, while all sets of eyes trained on me. Slowly, I opened it, and stopped breathing.

Maddy reached over and slapped me on the back, forcing me to take a breath. Then she clenched my hand. "I'm _sorry_, Evie. You know I wouldn't make things worse if I didn't have to. We'll handle this like we handle everything else. Hard, fast, clean."

The familiar, sadistic smile that only lived in my nightmares was staring back at me. The face of the man who had tortured me, for hours upon hours upon hours, in a roughly put together tent in the middle of an Arab desert, looked out at me from the top page.

"What does he have to do with anything?" I asked tightly. He was the one who had minced my back, had me on deaths door for days. He kept me alive just enough so that I could feel every new touch, every pain. The one my agency would've left me with, to die, and I thought they had, until Maddy, Jay and Adam had blown in and saved me.

"_Tell me, little jem, tell me your secrets." I could feel his hot breath against my ear... _

"_Come, pretty one. All the hurt will stop, hmm?" An empty promise. I knew it'd never end…I screamed. _

"Evie?"

_He was the only one who'd ever made me scream. _

"Evie!"

Her voice broke me out of my choppy, bloodied memories. I remember thinking that it'd never end, and my own screams of terror and agony echoing. I remembered that clearest of all.

"Why are you showing me this?" I asked, again feeling that awful emptiness open up inside me, and the _panic_.

No one knew I'd given him the sick pleasure of hearing me scream. No one. I'd never spoken a word of that fall. Could never admit that I'd been so weak, fallen so far.

Maddy pulled away the page with his smirking mug-shot to reveal a blown-up A4 sized photo of a sketchy CCTV capture. A man of obvious Arab decent, dressed in traditional robes and headdress, followed by four sunglasses-wearing body guards, was entering a building.

"The word is that he's here on financial business, a deal between the big drilling companies and his 'organisation'," she scoffed at that. "About an oil supply lurking under the same desert we got you from." She explained to me, gently. "The thing is, he's using a different name, and has rescheduled five meetings with those companies he's supposed to be here to see."

"Giving one the impression that he's not here for oil at all." I sighed, fighting within myself to stay in control. _I__ am__ stronger,__ damnit!_ My hands quivered, so I balled them into fists. "Then, what does he want?"

"No one knows that, yet." Danny put in. "He's been put under surveillance, but so far that's all that's been authorised."

"He's a proven terrorist!" I snapped. "They should've off-ed him as soon as he stepped off his plane!"

"You know it doesn't work like that when there's no proof." CJ tried.

"They decided it wasn't worth the risk of taking him on in the desert, that it would've been better to just let me die there! He's a dangerous man, and I guarantee you, that whatever he's here for, it won't bode well for _anyone_."

When silence greeted me, my eyes widened and I slumped in my chair.

"Oh for fucks sake, you can honestly think that he's here for _me_?"

"You're the only captive on record that has ever escaped and lived." Dan said matter-of-factly. "And he didn't get what he wanted from you. He's a man that lives off reputation, and you put a fair hole in his, I'd say."

"Thanks, Danny. That's _real_ reassuring!"

"Dan's right, though. You know how well the barsteds can hold a grudge." Jay put in. "It wouldn't be surprising if he _was_ here for you, to settle the score."

"It's absurd though! It's been almost two years since I was…captured. Why wait so long?"

"Maybe he only just found you?" Yas suggested.

"I know their equipment possibly isn't as advanced as ours half the time, but I doubt it would've taken him two years to figure out I was American. Where was this taken?"

"Washington, DC." Danny replied instantly. "The oil company head quarters are there, but, he's been trying to organise a trip to see one of their drill sites, which isn't far from here, as luck would have it."

"That may not mean that he knows I'm in New York, though." _Fucking__ universe!__ What __the__ hell_ have_ I__ done__ to__ you?_

"There are three drills closer to Washington, yet he picks the one closer to New York? That's a bit too coincidental, for my tastes." Maddy said, frowning. "It's true he may not be here for you, but something else is definitely going on here. He's not an oil man; his rep is for guerrilla warfare, not digging holes in the ground."

"_Crap_." I swore. "Can nothing _ever_ go smoothly for me? Would it really be too much to ask that I get a damn break?"

"You are a magnet for trouble." Dan chuckled.

I glared at him, not at all in any sort of mood for joking. "It's not funny, computer boy."

Maddy cleared her throat. Maybe sensing that her husband was on the way to getting his nose broken. "I think the best course of action would be to evacuate. No one can find you here if your not here."

I scowled at her. "I hate running. I am a lot of things, but I am _not__ a__ coward._Where would I go, anyway?" _He__ will__ never__ hear__ me__ scream__ again__…_

"I know you do, and I know your not, but I'm not going to give you any choice in the matter this time. And it'll be _we_. We're not splitting up. You should've seen enough horror movies to know that splitting up is the best way to get yourself killed. We stay together."

I rolled my eyes. "Fine, where are _we_ going to go, then?"

"Your father left you a house, didn't he?" She asked, very serious like.

If my eyes could get any wider, they'd probably fall right out of my eye sockets. "_No_, Madison, _no__ way_."

"Think about it, Evie. You despise that place, everyone knows that. It would be the last place anyone, especially anyone who once knew you, would think to look for you."

"Did you miss what happened while I was there last time? I'm not going back. I _can__'__t_ go back." I was panicking again.

"Shh, honey, calm down." CJ soothed. "You wouldn't have to deal with anyone there. We've gotta do what's best. There are too many variables here; we need to fight on different ground. Too many innocents could get hurt if we had to have a showdown here."

"It's _La __Push_. How will I be able to avoid an entire town while I'm staying in the middle of it? No, no and _no._ _I __am__ not__ going__ back_, and that's _final_." I folded my arms across my chest and glared at them.

_There is no way…_

oOo

"You'll get through this, Eves." Maddy promised me for the thousandth time as she rummaged around my room, throwing items of clothing and other things into the open suitcase on my bed.

I glared at her from the window sill, which had been locked and bolted so I couldn't escape. If they thought I wouldn't get desperate enough to just throw myself through the glass, then they were badly mistaken.

Unfortunately, I think they knew this, since they were on a rotate so there was someone with me at all times. It was like being held captive all over again. Only slightly less painful.

"Everyone keeps telling me that." I muttered. "And every time I hear it the less I believe it."

"You wanna know why I think you look as bad as you do?" My best friend, who I was going to strangle as soon as she turned her back, asked me as she fetched the pair of handguns she'd left me from under my mattress and put them back in a briefcase. "And why you feel worse then you look. And don't you even think about lying to me. I know that if you look bad, you feel twenty times worse."

"Not particularly, since I highly doubt I'll like what you have to say about it."

She carried on as if she hadn't heard me. "I think it's because you're away from Jacob Black."

I daresay I looked pretty nasty by that point. "_Excuse_ me?"

She slapped the lid on the now-full suitcase and turned to glare at me. "Stop being so bloody childish, Eva. From what I understand of this imprinting shit, it's not to be taken lightly. Your body is reacting to being away from him. You wouldn't look like you do if you two were closer together. _You_ might not miss him, but your _health_ obviously does."

"That's fucking ridiculous! I am not in love with that moron! Being away from him is a hellofalot better then being near him, trust me. And my health depends on our proximity? What utter bullshit! It's the stress causing this."

"Werewolves and vampires? _What __utter __bullshit_." She fired back, and it was enough to shut me up. She had a good point, in all fairness. Her suggestions were no more unlikely then mine, really.

"I do not need a soul-mate." I murmured softly, turning to stare back out the window, hugging my knees tighter. "I don't want one. Why can't I just have my way for once?"

"I'm not telling you to sleep with the boy, Evie." Maddy said gently as she came to rest beside me, putting an arm around my shoulders. "I think that just being near him again will make you feel better. I doubt you'll even have to talk to him."

"You don't understand, though. As soon as we set foot on that reservation, they'll be onto us like fleas on a dog. And they won't be happy when they discover that I've told you the secrets." I shook my head. "I _will_ have to deal with them. Which means I'll also be obliged to tell Tasha and Sam what Mum told me and I really don't think I can handle that conversation with them, let alone _any_ conversation."

"You won't have to." She said firmly. "I've looked into your Dad's will. He left the house to you and Tasha. By law, they can do nothing to stop you from being in the house."

"The res doesn't run on government law, though. Tribal law, and the council, are the power there. And because he's Alpha, Sam is automatically part of the decision making."

"What about Jacob?" I'd explained Mother's visit while she'd been packing, in equal attempts to distract her so I could escape, and to keep myself distracted so I didn't kill anyone. I may or may not have been slightly homicidal at the time. I was desperate to get out of it, alright?

"I have no idea how that works. From all accounts, he should be the Alpha, but I know for sure that he's not."

"A take over, maybe?" She suggested.

"I doubt it. Sam's an arse for sure, but I don't think he's the hostile take-over type. I think he must've phased before Black did, though. Maybe that's why."

"A mystery we'll solve another time." She decided. "We have to be ready, the plane leaves in three hours."

"I hate you for this."

"I know, but I believe we'll be better for it. I'll even clear it with your council, if it makes you feel better."

I raised an eyebrow at her. "What makes you think you'll be able to convince the tribal council to let a bunch of spies hold up on their land?"

She gave me an angelic smile. "I can be very persuasive when I want to be. You'll be able to give me the low-down on the members anyway, I'm sure. We _will_ have the edge in this. Besides, Seth's birthday is only a few days away. You'll finally be able to attend one."

I frowned at her. "Right as I've decided to disown them all…How did you know that, anyway?"

"It's written on the calendar in the kitchen, has been all year." She smirked at me.

"Oh...right." I'd completely forgotten about Seth's birthday. The renewed knowledge burned.

"Sometimes I think you should've been blonde."

"Oh, shut up."

oOo

Exactly two and a half hours later, my team was all loaded into Jay and Maddy's cars and were in traffic on our way to the air port. Jay and Dan had picked up Tyler's _packages_ from the agency and the girls had all run home to get packed and back in time. We were all going it seemed, Maddy thought it'd be to risky to leave Ben so he was coming as well.

Four field agents, a tech agent, two trainees, a toddler and a small deranged dog.

Oh yeah, we'd cause some damage.

* * *

**A/N: Another twist, gee wiz. Where do I keep getting them from, seriously? :S Lol. I hope you enjoyed it!**

**I think I'm going to be home for most of this week. The key word is _think_. Ya'll know how quick my plans change. We've settled on a house to move into, but the issue of when is still up for debate. It's going to be re-carpeted or something and they wanted us to wait until that has been done so…who rightly knows? **

**My week at work was _torture_. Two days on and I'm still recovering. It got to nearly 50 degrees in the shed :/ Definitely wasn't a walk in the park. But, money is money. And I certainly earned mine this week! **

**Hope your all going great (: **

**Love, **

**-Meg xx**


	29. Back to the Beginning

**A/N: Hi, guys, sorry about the wait. Things are very…on edge for me at the moment, and I've been pretty distracted. Apologies! **

**HUGE thanks and cookies to _SasoLOVE111, __Ravenclaw__ Slytherin,__ TempusSimia,__ Puckabrina__ Alee,__ UnperfectButLovingIt,__ Wolf-follower,__ kikikiki,__ RealWriter, __rae-rae89,__ dragonrain618,__ MAMfanfic,__ 'Lil__ Obsessed,__ brightglo,__ 1sweetmoment,__ xxxNinaxxx,__ 3__ 3__ 3,__ MusicIsAlwaysThere_ and_ SamMorgan13_ for your reviews! I truly appreciate it :)**

* * *

**. : Chapter 29: Back to the Beginning : .**

I did finally get some sort of rest on the flight back to Seattle, though it was really only dozing and I jolted awake every time I heard a strange noise. Or any noise, really…But the flight was uneventful, safe.

When we touched down and got off, I found Maddy had organised two black SUVs to be waiting for us. A detail I hadn't given a second thought to, in all honesty. My head had been in another world since they'd mutinied and dragged me into this.

I felt the weight of the small box and the strange pendant in my pocket, a last minute decision that I couldn't back with any sensible argument, just that I'd suddenly felt that I'd _had_ to. The items didn't make me smile, but I did feel a little less grey.

I wasn't ready to admit that Maddy's suggestion might've been true yet. I didn't want to believe that I'd forever suffer like this if I wasn't in Jacob Black's presence.

A tiny part of me wondered, _guiltily_, what _he_ was feeling. But the rest of me jumped all over the top of that part and buried it. _I __don__'__t__ want__ to __know!_ My mind repeated over and over.

I held Benny as Jay herded us into the SUVs. He was giving me some form of comfort, so Maddy had just let me have him, though I knew she'd missed her son. I felt selfish, but it was like I needed to hold the smaller life in my arms, needed something to anchor myself to, as the closer we got, the more foreboding filled me.

My godson had been wide awake for the first half of the flight, but now he slumbered again. I didn't even risk putting him in his car seat, fearing that if I did he'd wake.

The car ride from Seattle to La Push was very quiet. I was in the first car with Jay, who was driving, Benny, Yas and CJ. Danny, Maddy and Tess were following behind us, with most of the baggage, which had turned out to be quite extensive.

We only really spoke when I gave Jay directions, otherwise, I stayed silent.

We stopped in Forks to get fuel and the groceries we'd need to stock the house. That's when Maddy started drilling me on information about the council.

"Wouldn't it be better to ring ahead and arrange a meeting?" She asked as we waited for Jay to pay for the fuel. "A more formal approach?"

"Yes, under normal circumstances. But I don't want to deal with any of the pack, and if they know in advance, Sam will undoubtedly be there."

"What if we left it until the last minute, they might not have time to tell him."

"They'd know pretty much straight away. All the council members have children in the pack. You'd probably get a wolf answering the phone. We're better off going in search of Billy once we get there."

"Billy?"

"Billy Black, tribal elder and chief, if you will. Father to Jacob Black and about-to-be father-in-law to another of the wolves. His daughter, the one getting married, is also Tasha's best friend." I announced dryly.

"Well, that's just brilliant, isn't it?"

"Yep."

"What about other council members? Any of them _less_ connected?"

"Not really. Quil Ateara, senior, has a grandson in the pack and Sue Clearwater, has a son _and_ daughter with the furry gene. Usually, most of them hang out at Sam's, so hopefully we'll get lucky and Billy will be home alone. So long as he's not out fishing. Someone will probably notice the cars and tell Sam anyway. We'll likely be undetected for five minutes, at the max."

Maddy muttered something under her breath. I didn't catch it, but I could imagine and chuckled anyway.

oOo

I seemed to be acutely aware once we'd crossed the line into the reservation. Every muscle in my body strained with tension, ready to run at a moments notice. My heart beat loudly in my ears. I couldn't sit still, couldn't relax.

I directed the way to Billy's, jumping at every person we saw, though none of them were pack as far as I knew. As predicted, we were openly gawked at, and I was immensely thankful for the heavily tinted windows.

My panic only got worse when we pulled up outside the Black's. The shed doors were open, and I could see that the rabbit and both Jake's bikes were inside. _It __doesn__'__t __mean__ he__'__s __here_. I reminded myself. I'd never once seen him actually use them after all. I doubted the wolves really had a use for cars.

"You guys wait _in __the __car_." Jay told us firmly. "Maddy and I will speak to Mr. Black. Evie, I'm sure you can understand that all hell will hit the fan if you get out."

"_Get__ out_?" I echoed disbelievingly, giving him a look that clearly conveyed how insane I thought he was. "Yeah, _right_. You couldn't drag me out."

He grinned. "That's my girl. Sit tight, hopefully this won't take long."

He slid out and shut his door behind him. CJ reached a hand over the seat and squeezed my shoulder.

oOo

NO ONE'S POV

"How do you think this is going to go?" Jay asked Maddy as he fell in step beside her, together the pair of agents ascended the steps up to the had-seen-better-days veranda.

"Well, it has to work, doesn't it?" She returned quietly, reaching up and knocking on the door. A glance behind her revealed that none of the others had gotten out, and there were no other beings that had suddenly appeared. They'd actually listened for once. She made a note to be shocked about that later.

She held her breath as she heard movement beyond the barrier, and a few seconds later the door opened. The seasoned field agent and mother of one blinked in surprise at the aging man before her. His black hair beginning to grey, his black cowboy hat well worn, and his hands, wrinkled and scarred from years of labour, were folded in his lap. Evie hadn't mentioned he was in a wheelchair.

"Can I help you?" The man asked politely, though both agents were aware of how he carefully took in their appearance. The man was watchful, no doubt very clever.

"Mr. Billy Black?" Jay inquired, sounding almost painfully formal.

"Yes? Though you can leave off the Mr, son."

Jay smiled. "I'm Jay Cleaver, and this is Madison Livingston. We've been told you're the man to talk to regarding permission to take up part-time residence in the old Hanson house?"

Billy frowned. "You have the owner's permission to do that, son?"

"We do, sir."

"_Both_ owners'?"

The pair exchanged a look. They both knew that Tasha hated their guts, and would never grant them anything of the sort.

"No." Maddy replied, taking a leap and going for honesty. Billy Black should've been the kind of man to appreciate that. "No, sir, I'm afraid we don't have _both_ owners' permission…only Eva's."

His eyes widened. "You know Eva?"

They both nodded.

"Would you like to come inside?" The Elder offered.

They exchanged another discreet glance. "For a moment, sir. But we really don't have all that long. We've got family waiting in the cars."

Billy raised his eyebrows, but wheeled himself backwards nonetheless.

The pair followed him inside, running their eyes over the little house and it's messy, but homey, interior.

"Have a seat," The Elder offered, gesturing to the table. He paused, eyeing the papers and whatnot spread over it. "You'll have to excuse the mess, wasn't really expecting guests."

Maddy smiled. "It's alright. I doubt Jay would've even noticed."

Billy smiled back at her, chuckling a bit as the young man let the insult roll off him with only a small scowl in her direction. "So, you want permission to stay in Oliver Hanson's house?"

"Yes, sir."

"But you only have Evie's permission? Have you…spoken to her, recently?"

_He__'__s __fishing__ for __information__ on__ her_. Maddy thought as Jay answered. "That's correct."

"How…How is she?"

"She's in good hands." Jay replied smoothly. "Now, I hate to sound pushy, sir, but we really do need your answer on this as soon as possible."

"What's the rush?"

Jay hesitated, but in the end opted for Maddy's approach. "We're in need of a safe place for a while. I swear we won't disrupt goings on here, though. You won't even know we're here."

Billy chuckled. "You'll make a stir, boy, whether you go out or not. But I don't need any trouble brought on my people. So if you're in some kind of trouble…"

"I honestly don't believe it's likely that we'll be found here, sir." Maddy interrupted. "Hence why we chose this place. I apologise for the late notice, forewarning was not really an option. Please, Chief, we need your answer _now_."

He folded his hands again, linking his fingers together, thumbs resting on top. "Did Evie tell you to come to me?" He didn't appear in any hurry to answer them.

Maddy wasn't entirely sure if she should be respectful or annoyed. "Yes. She said it would be best if we got the council's permission."

"Is she with you now?"

They remained silent. Finally, Billy sighed, and nodded. "You have my permission, on the condition that you don't put my people in danger."

Jay and Maddy nodded and rose. "Thank you, sir."

"Tell…tell Evie that she's dearly missed, and I'd appreciate it if she'd visit an old man sometime, or just call, to let him know she was alright."

Maddy paused at the door and looked back over her shoulder. "I'll pass on the message, sir."

"Thank you."

Jay waited until Maddy was out before closing the door behind her and following her down the steps.

"You let slip to much information." He chided her.

"Billy Black is no enemy to us, Jay. We needed to convince him that we were trust worthy, and the best way to do that is to tell the truth." She returned. "I know what I'm doing."

"I hope so. I dunno if I'll be able to keep my promise to Evie not to shoot any of her relatives if they start breaking down doors trying to find her."

"I don't know if Evie would be able to help herself, she's on edge enough as it is. She'll shoot first, ask questions later." Evie, even though it might not be openly obvious, was teetering dangerously close to the edge. Maddy would do anything to bring her best friend back from that edge, the one she'd seen destroy many others.

"Maybe it wasn't a good idea to bring her back here."

"She needs to be full strength if all these barsteds _are_ coming after her. And the only way that will happen is if she's near Jacob Black." She paused at the passenger door to her SUV and put a reassuring hand on Jay's arm. "Trust me, Jay. I won't let anything happen to our little sister."

"Good," The older man's stare was hardened, the muscles in his neck taught. "'Cause neither will I."

oOo

EVIE'S POV

"How did it go?" I asked anxiously as Jay climbed back into the driver's seat. "_Well_?"

"Well, you'd better remember the way to this house of yours."

My jaw dropped. "He granted your request? Just like that?"

He grinned at me. "Just like that."

"What did you tell him?"

"Nothing. But it turns out your quite the wild card, he would've handed us the keys personally after he found out we were friends of yours."

"_You __told__ him __I__ was __here_?"

"Nope." I didn't miss the flicker in his eyes. I swallowed.

"Oh, thank god." _Shit._

"You know they'll probably find out though, right?" He asked. "I doubt their really that stupid, baby girl."

"I know." I whispered. "But I'd like to postpone it as long as possible, thanks."

"You can't hide forever, baby girl." He muttered lowly to me as I directed him up a side road.

I didn't answer, didn't have to. I knew that.

oOo

We got to the house without issue. Even got inside and mostly got all the bags out of the cars without anyone turning up. To say I was surprised would've been an understatement. It didn't stop me from being jumpy though, and scanning the trees every five seconds, half expecting to see a wolf standing among them, watching.

I nearly leapt out of my skin when a hand landed on my shoulder. I whirled around to stare, wide eyed, at Maddy.

"For shit, woman!" I hissed at her.

She raised an eyebrow. "Why don't you wait inside? We're just going to set up a bit of surveillance gear and then we'll be right in."

I nodded quickly in agreement. "Sounds good. If you want me, I'll be hiding under my bed."

"Evie." Her voice stopped me mid-step. "I've been asked to pass on a message. An old man wishes that you'd pay him a visit, to let him know you're alright."

"Ah shit." I muttered, trudging the rest of the way inside, taking care to step over all the bags that nearly blocked off the short hall. "He does know. Damn the old insightful bugger."

I went past the lounge and kitchen, where CJ and Tess were putting away the food and learning their way around. I also noticed the younger of the two setting up small sensors around the windowsill above the sink. I took the stairs to the second floor and once again bee-lined for my old room. I'd only been half joking about what I'd said about hiding under the bed. It actually sounded rather appealing now.

"How has my life turned out like this?" I asked the empty air around me, crossing the room to look out the window. I stuck to the side, hiding most of myself behind the faded curtain, studying the forest below and beyond the over-grown yard.

I knew it'd only be a matter of time before the idiots turned up.

oOo

"What are you doing?"

I looked up from strapping up the knee-high black combat boots to the doorway, where Maddy was watching me, eyebrows at her hairline.

I grabbed the hunting knife from the mattress and slipped it down the top of the boot, into the slot on the inside of the leather.

"Going to visit an old man." I replied, monotone.

"You think that's a good idea?" She asked, leaning against the doorway as I zipped up the black jacket, hiding the pendant that now hung around my neck and the gun holsters around my arms.

"Not really, but I don't think any of this is a good idea, so…"

She gave me a thoughtful half-smile. "You really do care about them, don't you? The older ones, I mean."

I shrugged, unable to deny it. Those people had meant a lot to my Daddy, after all. "I shouldn't, they lied to me just as much as the rest of them did."

"Once you get a soft spot for someone, you never quite loose it." She finalised.

_Not __true._ "Look, Mads. If you didn't want me to go, you wouldn't have told me. Are you gonna stop me or not?" I was too tired to try to play mind games.

"No, I'm not going to stop you. If I didn't think you'd be safe here, I wouldn't have made you come." She replied, reaching into her pocket and pulling out a flip-top silver phone. "Here, yours might be traceable."

I reached out and took the phone, smiling at her. "Thanks. Just as well, I accidentally left mine on my kitchen table anyways."

She grinned at me and chuckled. "Off you go then, before it gets to dark!"

I rolled my eyes. "Yes, Mother." Walking over to the open window, I slung one leg out and then slipped through the rest of me.

"Be careful, Evie." Maddy whispered to me from inside as I tested the branches of the tree that grew right next to the house. This was the way I'd always managed to sneak in and out when I was younger.

"No worries, boss." I smiled back, beginning my steady descent. I landed on the solid ground on silent feet, and hastily jogged into the cover of the forest before anyone managed to spot me. Never hurt to be in top sneaking condition.

My senses were on high alert as I trekked through the forest on the well-worn path I knew would eventually take me to the Black's. But when it was normally so alive, today it seemed oddly quiet, almost unnaturally so.

My mind brought up the time I'd walked to the Clearwater's and the strange thing that had followed me most of the way. At the time I'd thought it was just a stray dog, but now, I couldn't help but wonder if it'd been something a bit bigger then that…

This time there were no leaves crunching under heavy feet, or soft footfalls on the damp earth. Just silence. I think it unnerved me more then being followed did.

When I could see the Black household through the trees, I crept off the path and hid in the thickest ground-growing ferns. I watched the house for a good ten minutes, yet no one came or went, and I could hear no noise coming from within it.

Once satisfied that none of the horde were here, I tiptoed out of my hiding place and made a quick, silent dash across the open ground to the back door. Now that I was closer, I could hear the muffled noise of the TV, but nothing else. Which hopefully meant that Billy was still home, and everyone else was out.

I knocked, just loud enough for him to hear, before stepping aside to be better hidden in case someone else _did_ open the door.

"Hello?" Billy's deep voice rumbled a few moments later.

I closed my eyes and breathed in, then stepped into view.

"Evie." He murmured softly, staring at me. Like he couldn't quite believe it.

I rubbed my arms as if fending off a chill and smiled sheepishly. "Hello, Billy."

"Come in, honey!" He gestured, wheeling backwards to give me room to do so.

Tentatively, I did enter, scanning the house quickly.

"He isn't here, honey." Daddy's best friend said, sadly. "It's all clear."

"He's not the only one I'm avoiding, if that makes you feel any better." I offered lamely, following him as he went back into the lounge room. There was a football game on TV. "Now I know why I haven't seen any. Their all at Emily's, glued to the damn TV."

He chuckled at my attempt to lighten the mood. "Probably. Sit, honey, you look…worn out."

I did what he said, kind of numbly. "I am sorry for how things have turned out, Billy. I didn't mean for it to be like this, but I can't be what you want me to be."

"And what do you think I want you to be?" He asked gently.

I shrugged. "I don't know. Jake's soul-mate? Another Emily? That's not who I am, Billy. I won't ever be like her."

"No, honey, that's not it at all. I want you to be whatever _you_ want to be. You seem to think that it's all some kind of curse that'll keep you locked up here forever. It's not like that."

I gave him a sad smile. "That's what it'd be like for me if I stayed here, and just took it all. I wouldn't be happy with the life Emily has. It's nice, but it's not _me._ Jacob would mean that for me…" _That__ and__ I__ simply __can__'__t__ be __in__ that__ situation __again._ "The world got it wrong; we're not meant for each other."

"The world is never wrong, sweetheart. It'll just take some working out, not everything is perfect on the first go, you know." He said, sounding like the council elder he was. "Would you like something to drink, or eat?"

"No, thank you. I really can't stay long…"

"Don't want to risk running into one of them huh?" He smiled at me, amused.

I shook my head. "That…and I don't want to leave my friends alone long, in case _they _run into them first."

"Why are you here, Evie?" He asked, suddenly sounding very serious.

"I got a message that a worried old man wanted to see me." I smiled, but it faded when he didn't smile back. "You mean here on the res, don't you?"

He nodded. "Are you in trouble, honey? The young couple here before gave off the impression that you were, and were in need of a safe house."

"I am…sort of." I replied carefully. "It's…complicated, but nothing we won't be able to handle. We just need some time to get organised without worrying about being interrupted."

"You realise it won't be real peaceful once they find out your back, right?" He fixed me with knowing, old eyes. "I will have to tell them, you know. They'd find out anyway."

"I know." I muttered, a little miserably. "Just…give me enough time to get back before you start making phone calls. I'd like enough time to barricade myself in."

"This wasn't your idea, was it?"

"No." I replied, flatly. "No it certainly wasn't. Sorry."

He chuckled. "It's alright. But you'd wanna get going, there's only fifteen minutes left in the game."

I yipped and stood. "Thank you, Billy. I'll be seeing you soon, no doubt." I dropped a kiss to his old cheek and darted for the back door, but brought myself to a sudden, grinding holt before I reached it.

I turned to look back at the wise old chief, and found myself tentatively asking. "How is Jake?"

Billy was silent for a moment, contemplating his answer, before saying. "He's…around. I haven't spoken to him since…"

_Since I left._

Something in me wilted, like a flower without sun.

I nodded tensely, and was gone.

* * *

**A/N: This one took a bit of effort to get finished. I'm having a similar go-slow with the next one, too. I've got the ideas, but it's just taking me a little to feel like I've gotten it _right_, you know? I hope you enjoyed this anyway :)**

**I can't tell you when the next update will be. There's so much happening, now only an earth-shattering 4 days until we move, which is always a hellish experience in my family. Then directly after that I'm hoping that I'll be on a bus to my best friend's for a fortnight, then back to work for I-don't-know-how-long. I'm probably not going to be home for like 3 weeks-a month. I will try to update in that time though, I'll have internet at my friend's so yeah. **

**My Grandpa is back in hospital, he's getting worse and worse and still doctors can't tell us what is wrong. My whole family are starting to get very worried, which is making me ten times as worried and…I'm just stressing, again. Lol. **

**I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, please review to let me know what you thought!**

**Love, **

**-Meg xx**


	30. Shadows

_**In Loving Memory of William Weitzel b. 1910 d. 2011. **_

_**Our Own Hero. **_

**. : Chapter 30: Shadows : . **

* * *

I got back in time to hear familiar voices coming from around the front of the house.

Barely holding in a groan and resisting the urge to run very quickly back into the forest, _anywhere_ away, I crept on silent, dreading feet around the side of my old home.

There, standing out from the veranda on overgrown grass, like they owned the world, stood a good half of the pack, or it seemed that way to me, along with my deranged sister. I had been sort of hoping that she'd have gone home by now, but apparently not.

"You have no right to be here!" Tasha was all but screeching at Jay while jabbing him repeatedly in the chest with one dainty finger. Sam stood close enough to grab her in case she _actually_ tried to attack someone, and behind him were Paul, Max, Brady, Colin and Quil.

Jay, Dan and Maddy were the only ones outside, for which I was thankful. The last thing any of us needed was more bloody imprinting cases.

"I'll think you'll find," Jay snapped, grabbing her hand in time to stop her from hitting him again. "That we _do_."

"Oh, really?" She really did fume like a bull, face red as a tomato, steam pouring out her ears.

"If you could explain to me on what authority you have to be here…" Sam started in a much more diplomatic tone. He and the boys were as bare chested as always. And were all puffed up and standing to their full heights with typical male I'm-defending-my-turf egos. I nearly expected them to start snarling.

"The owner and your chief, as it turns out." Jay replied smoothly. You could probably cut through all the damn testosterone with a butter knife.

I shook my head. Human, werewolf…males were all the same. Imbeciles.

"You don't have _my_ authority, and I want you all _out_, _now_!" Tasha snapped.

"Well, yours wasn't needed. You don't have any say in the matter, Tashie, so stop making a fool of yourself." Maddy smirked. They _never_ really had bonded…

"Why you little…" My sister clenched her fists and took a step forward like she actually intended to hit my partner.

That was enough. As much as I would've loved to have stayed out of it, this _was_ my problem. I'll admit that much. I usually try to make a habit of dealing with my own problems. And no one, _no__ one_, threatens my partner.

"You know you're not thinking of hitting her, Tasha. Because you know she'll have no problems kicking your arse if you do." I said, much more calmly then I felt as I strode around the house and out into plain view. Walking as far as Jay's side and stopping there. Lines drawn, allegiances clear.

"How _thrilling_ to see you, again. What do I owe this _delightful_ reunion to?" Please note the sarcasm.

"Eva." My sister said, breathily, like she couldn't quite believe it or wasn't totally sure it _was_ me. Perhaps I should suggest glasses. Oh no, I wasn't bitter _at __all_.

"Ohmy_god_. Your back!"

"Excellent observation. Not for any of _you_, I assure you." I snapped, my tone probably icy enough to freeze hell over. I fisted my hands, still feeling their betrayal burning inside me. "We have Billy's permission to be here, so you can _all__ bugger__ off_."

I noticed that Quil was taking slow, inconspicuous steps backwards, I pounced on it immediately.

"Where do you think _your_ going?" If only looks could kill. "I know who you're going to go running to, and I'm telling you to _leave __it_."

"Evie," Sam said, softly. _Do__ thine__ ears__ detect__ a_ guilty _tone?_ He coughed. "Could we maybe talk about this?" He asked, flicking his eyes mistrustfully over my friends. "In _private_?"

"No." Short, sweet, straight to the point. Easy, even for idiots to understand.

"C'mon Evie, don't be such a selfish bitch. He's fuckin' _suffering_ without you, and you don't look so crash hot either." Paul piped up.

"That probably has something to do with all the stress I've been under lately, and the lack of sleep I've been getting. Jacob Black is _not__ my__ problem_; you'll have to deal with his manic depression on your own." I said, crisply, ignoring the clenching in my gut and the sick feeling I got from his words. _Jake.__ Suffering__…__my__ fault._

I noted how Paul tensed up and the stern look Sam gave him. Anger triggered the change; they got wild, lost control. _The__ scars __on__ Emily__'__s __face__…_I cast a nervous glance at my friends. If Paul-dumbshit lost it, they'd be in the firing line.

I could throw the knife in my boot fast enough to stop him before he could lay a hand-paw?-on them.

"We would be, if he was here." Cousin, uh, _brother_– gee, _lucky_ me – said, seemingly trying to catch my eye. I wouldn't meet his gaze, conscious suddenly of what Mum had told me about my eyes. "He doesn't hang around much anymore, spends most of his time in the forest."

"Excellent!" I said, as happily as I could manage. Even to my own ears it sounded like the most pathetic attempt on record. How had I made it as a spy, seriously? And I'd just been walking through the goddamn forest! Had he seen me? Did he know I was here already?

"He's gotten in touch with nature, that's very healthy for you, they say. I'm sure he's fine. So glad we've cleared this up, goodbye." I prattled so quickly they probably only caught every second word or so. I turned quickly and started ushering my half alert, half amused looking team back inside.

Jay slung an arm around my shoulders and chuckled. "You did better then I expected you would, baby girl. I'm proud of ya."

I hardly thought so. My heart was still pounding, blood rushing, I swear I could hear it in my ears. My insides were still twisting themselves into knots. God, would I actually be sick? Possibly. "Let's go inside, I'm hungry."

_Did well. Hah. _

"CJ will probably have a horse cooked by now." Dan laughed as he stepped inside, followed by the others.

I looked back at my past, who were all still standing where I'd left them, staring after us. I rolled my eyes at them and waved dismissively, mustering what was left of my tattered control. "_Go__ home_." I whispered, knowing the wolves would probably hear me. "You're not welcome in my life."

"I hope it isn't a horse." Maddy was saying. "I'm firmly equine intolerant."

I laughed, genuinely, firmly shutting the door. Some of the tension eased. These were the people I belonged with. These ones right here. "There might not be much lobster here, Mads, but I don't think they actually get desperate enough to sell horse."

"You never know with these isolated little places. You remember that time we were given camel?" She insisted, turning a little paler even as she said it. Maddy liked normal foods, even the idea of exotics didn't go well with her stomach.

"That was Saudi Arabia; camels are about all there is there." I chuckled, pulling her into the kitchen, the menace outside nearly forgotten. _Lie._ "What's for dinner, Cookie?"

CJ looked up from placing the plates on the table and raised an unamused eyebrow. "Certainly not horse, that's for sure. You've got rump steak and vegies, suitable?"

"Cow I can handle." Maddy replied, smiling as she took a seat next to her son, making a face at him to make him laugh. I sighed at the sweet sound.

"Fantastic, dig in! Jay's offered to do the washing up." Our house-mother announced happily.

"What?" Jay spluttered, appalled at the very idea of having to do housework. "I did _not_!"

"There's no dish-washer here, and I cooked it. _You_ can wash up."

"I'm not the only one eating it, ya know. Make Dan do it."

"Hey!"

"Danny can do it tomorrow night; we'll make a roster out of it. We'll take turns cooking and cleaning up."

"You and your bloody rosters…"

"Shut up. Or I'll have you on clean up duty for the entire time we're here."

"I'll revolt." He warned.

"You'll be cooking your own meals." She returned, smirking.

"I _can_ cook, you know."

I scoffed. "You call giving yourself food poisoning, cooking?"

"How was I supposed to know that…some _things_ had passed their used-by date?"

We exchanged looks, before Yas replied in a slow, your-such-an-idiot tone. "Uh, by reading the packaging?"

Jay seemed to struggle with an answer, so we naturally just dissolved into giggles.

"Hey, you weren't lyin' when you said the uh,_natives_, were well muscled huh, Eves?" Yas asked me, grinning mischievously as she pushed broccoli around her plate. "Their _yummy_."

"Their personalities put you off, trust me." There was the underlying; _I__ don__'__t__ want__ to __risk__ you__ being__ a__ soul-mate__ to__ any__ of__ them, __too_. From personal experience, one love sick dog was more then enough.

"I reckon if they didn't talk…" She trailed off, shrugging. "It's not my fault. I'm trained to notice hot guys; it's just programmed into me."

We laughed, and Tess even blushed. "They _are_ good looking…"

"Well, the oldest looking one is engaged, that's the one who did most of the talking. The one that called me a selfish bitch is also engaged, and the one that tried to sneak off to find Black is also involved…in a really creepy and complicated way. The other three are single, as far as I know. Though Max would be to old for you two, anyway." I finished off with an uncaring shrug. _Lie._"We can just be thankful that Black _wasn__'__t _among them…and neither were Leah or Seth. I don't know how that'd go…probably not well."

"You reckon?" Jay asked sarcastically. "I was surprised that your first meeting went that well though. Especially with Tasha and Sam present."

"I didn't give them much of a chance to talk, did I?"

He grinned. "Clever girl."

"I thought Tasha was going to pop a fuse." Danny chuckled. "Girl looked like she was ready to explode."

I smirked. "Yes, no doubt she'll drive everyone insane tonight, bitching about us and demanding that you be kicked off the res and me kidnapped and forbidden from ever leaving."

"Bit drastic, don't you think?" Maddy asked, raising an eyebrow at my theatrics.

"This _is_ Tasha we're talking about."

"…Yeah, okay, point made."

oOo

I was close to being half-asleep when the scream echoed through the house.

I rolled out of bed, snatching my favourite handgun from under my pillow as I did so and bolted for the door, Yas was up and on my tail milliseconds later.

We ran down the stairs to the lounge, where all our surveillance equipment had been set up. The rest of the team were down only moments after us, guns drawn and ready to fire.

Tess was seated at the small table in the centre of the room, the one with computers all over it. She was staring, wide eyed, at the screen, her hands clasped over her mouth and as pale as the sheets that still covered my Dad's furniture.

"Tessie?" CJ murmured, voice thick with sleep, lowering her firearm. Now that the apparent danger had passed, we went back to being 'just woken up'. "Honey, what in the name of Jesus Christ was the screaming?"

Tess withdrew one hand long enough to point at one of the screens before slapping it back over her mouth, as if she had to stifle another.

I tucked my gun into the waistband of my boxers and went over to look, laying a comforting hand on her arm as I leaned down over her shoulder to see the screen. It was a video feed from one of the cameras they'd set up earlier, this one being situated close to the house, maybe even in the tree next to my room.

It looked into the forest, and there, looming between the trees, was a huge shadowy figure.

"One of the wolves." I muttered, barely above a whisper. It was huge, its chest double the thickness of the large tree trunks it stood beside. It would've been as tall as Jay at the shoulder, taller, even. "Sam's having the place watched."

"That's…one of the guys who were here today?" Tess whispered thickly. I could almost hear her heart hammering against her ribcage. I could definitely feel her shaking under my hand.

"They won't touch us, hun. I promise." I assured her, moving back to let the others get a look at it. _It_ was probably _him_, but…oh well. It would do.

"Holy mackerel." Danny muttered.

"You're recording this, right? Have to show Tyler." Jay asked, grinning triumphantly. "Stick this in his pipe and watch him smoke it."

"Damn." Yas shook her head. "And they all look like that? _Damn_. You'd only need a few and you'd have an army. How many are there, again?"

"Thirteen…that I know of." I replied, looking distractedly out the kitchen window to the moon-lit forest beyond. The feed wasn't infrared, like I knew some of them were. But somehow, the naturalness of it just made it all the creepier. Dark shapes moving in moon-cast shadows…the stuff of horror movies, right? "They don't know about the gear, lets keep it that way."

"I'm hardly gonna go out and fucking tell the giant beast that we can see it." Yas snapped.

"Shh!" I hissed at her. "We don't know just how good their hearing is, remember? Keep it down."

She swallowed. "Right. Sorry."

"They'll probably hang around. But I highly doubt we'll see one in person. Their more secretive then we are." I said. "Just go back to bed, they won't worry us."

"You're positive?" Tess asked, still shaken, stilly eyeballing the giant thing that hadn't moved from its post. "They won't hurt us?"

I smiled at her. "I'm positive. Dan, take the rest of Tessie's shift. C'mon, hun, lets get you to bed."

Danny kissed his wife's cheek and helped Tess rise from the chair and stand on wobbly legs.

My friend shivered. "So don't do supernatural. Nasty, nasty stuff. I agree with Ty, lets stick with proven science."

I chuckled, taking her arm and guiding her up the stairs. I was sharing my old room with Yas. Tess and CJ were in Tasha's, and Jay had decided to set up a mattress in the hall between our rooms.

Something about protecting the damsels.

Yas had nearly hit him in the head with a frypan.

And Dan and Maddy had taken my parent's old room with Benny.

After handing Tess to CJ, who took her back to bed, I ushered Yas back into our room.

"If you need anything, just squeal." Jay said to us, grinning.

Yas scowled at him. "I guarantee you that you'll be _squealing_ long before we do."

"Come on, you two. You can argue in the morning." I smirked, shutting the door on him. "You don't always have to take the bait, you know." I said to Yas as we settled back down. We'd shifted the boxes and set up an air mattress against the opposite wall to my bed.

She shrugged her shoulders as she stretched out and linked her fingers together behind her head. "I know. But I love beating the crap out of him so much that it's just the perfect excuse really."

I chuckled, and reached over to switch off the lamp on the tiny bedside table. "You really are some sort of evil, Yas."

She laughed. "Not like I ain't heard that one before…Eves?"

"Mmhm?"

"We won't actually have to fight those massive mangy mutts, will we? Like, you didn't just say that stuff to calm Tessie down?" She asked, quietly.

I was surprised that something had managed to spook our Yas, but was equally proud at how well she'd hidden her feelings. I rolled onto my side so I could see her outline in the little light that managed to find its way through the open window.

"I promise. Their purpose is to protect the humans from the vampires. They still have full possession of their minds, and while I'm not very fond of them or believe there's much _in_ those minds, I know they'd never hurt a person on purpose."

I saw her nod. "Okay, if ya say so, Evie. G'night."

"Night." I whispered back, and waited until her breathing evened out, signalling she was asleep before I closed my own eyes, trying to fend off my new feeling of dread. Things were gonna get a whole lot more complicated, long before I was ready for it.

* * *

**A/N: Thank you so much_ SasoLOVE111,__ Ravenclaw__ Slytherin,__ brightglo,__ RealWriter03,__ dragonrain618,__ Azalia__ Fox__ Knightling,__ Puckabrina__ Alee, __kiki,__ TempusSimia,__ peygoodwin,__ 1sweetmoment,__ SerenityAngels,__ Rebeccaaa,__ 'Lil__ Obsessed,__ Voxtur,__ MAMfanfic,__ Happy2BeeMee,__ SamMorgan13,__ LoneWolfPack,__ midnightblue19,__ SundaySolis_ and_ Harvey__ the__ Wonder__ Hamster_ for the reviews. They are, as always, very much appreciated. **

**As the notice up the top indicates, my Grandpa passed away last Sunday. I'm surviving but it's a hard road to travel on, and it's not showing any turn off's anytime soon. He was a hero and survivor of WWII, father of seven, grandfather of twelve and great grandfather of one-soon to be two. He will be dearly missed. My hero, and my inspiration **

**The funeral is tomorrow. I'm currently at my friend's place, so haven't seen any of my family since the news. We'll be staying with my grandmother for a couple of days hopefully. **

**I've had this chapter ready for a few days, but couldn't find the inclination to post it until now, I'm sorry. I thought I should give it to you now though, in case I don't have a chance to later. **

**-Meg **


	31. Time Machines

**A/N: Sorry for the long wait with this loves. I've been away a lot working and coupled with everything else that has been going on…my muse kind of took leave.**

**Thank you so very much _'Lil__Obsessed, __brightglo,__ CayleeRae,__ kikikiki,__ SasoLOVE111,__ Puckabrina__ Alee,__ RealWriter03, __Mythical__ Words,__ SamMorgan13, __Ravenclaw__ Slytherin,__ Christine-Grace123,__ Wolf-follower,__ Azalia__ Fox__ Knightling,__ Harvey__ the__ Wonder __Hamster,__ MAMfanfic,__ lazymazy _and _Rhythm15 _for your reviews. OMG WE CRACKED _300_! :D THANK YOU SO MUCH!**

**Ahem….hope you enjoy the chapter (:**

* * *

**. : Chapter 31: Time Machines : . **

I woke the next morning to the sounds of TV and muffled shuffling downstairs.

For a split second, as my eyes fluttered open and I saw a ceiling so familiar, bathed in glowing morning light…I thought…but I stretched, and my feet found open air.

No, too tall to be six again. My feet never hung over the end of my bed at that age.

_Not__six,__eighteen._I thought with a disappointed sigh. A very _complicated_ eighteen at that. I'm damn sure at least ninety percent of other eighteen year olds didn't shoulder the things I did. Too be so young again…I know I'm still _young_, but not in the mind.

It'd never happen, that's what. Unless Ty came up with a time machine he'd let me borrow. I doubted that, unless it was made specially for me, Ty was very hesitant letting me play with anything he created. Couldn't imagine why, I'd only set fire to his lab _once_. Once! I might be part dog, part witch, but I'm not physic. I had no idea the pen-look-alike was actually a miniature flame thrower…thing.

Speaking of witches, maybe Mum knew a spell for that? Age reversal…or maybe a memory eraser. To start anew, as someone else…

A laughing shriek echoed up the stairs and through my closed door. It was followed by Ben's joyous little voice yelling incomprehensible things as he laughed. Someone was playing with him obviously, probably tickling him.

I couldn't leave him, no matter how bad everything else got, how hard I struggled to get through it, to find my footing again. To live without knowing that gorgeous little life, his mother and father…if I was given the option to start again, I still wouldn't take it. I wouldn't leave them.

I pondered for a moment as to whether or not my stubborn as hell loyalty was a long-buried wolf trait. I paused, startling myself. I'd accepted that I had a goddamn wolf tied up inside me? Since when?

I grumbled. Admittedly, I hadn't actually doubted Mother when she'd told me as much. I sure hoped this wasn't a sign that I was suddenly going to take in everything I was told as…blindly. Even for a civilian, that is just _stupid_. I'd be dead in a week.

And with the way things were looking at the current stage, dead within a week was probably up there in the _Reasonable__Possibility__There__Of_ chart.

Yippy skip. We already know my self-preservation is fairly low, so…bring it on.

I rolled my head to the side to see that Yas was indeed already up and gone, her bed unmade. The girl might've been as tough as any soldier, but she'd never quite gotten into the other side of our military-style training. If the Sargent had seen it in such a condition, she'd probably still be running laps at midnight.

Slowly and reluctantly, I dragged myself out of bed then begrudgingly left my room.

Ben's breathless laughter washed over me full-force as I stepped off the last stair. His father had him held securely in a head lock and was tickling his side, grinning like a fool. The covers had been removed from the two old leather lounges and Maddy was sitting on one, an open file in her lap, as she kept one eye on the surveillance screens and with the other watched her boys with a contented, loving smile.

As always, it was both wonderful and heartbreaking for me to see them like this. At the same time the smile spread across my face, my chest constricted to the point of it almost being agonizing.

"Aunty Evie!" Benny shrieked, having seen me. He tried fruitlessly to get free and waved his arms wildly. "H-Help!"

I chuckled, voice still husky from sleep. "Ah, kiddo, I'd love to. But you know I can't do much of anything until I've had a coffee."

"P-please!" He squeaked around the giggles.

Giving in, like always, I grinned at the computer genius. "Dan, let ya boy go."

He laughed, scooping his son up and pressing a kiss to the panting toddler's cheek. "You're lucky you've got your Aunt here to watch your back. But, victory will be mine!" Dan gasped dramatically.

Ah, they were playing 'war' again.

"Nooo!" Benny yelled, and then he latched hold of his Dad's nose, the 'killing blow' in their favourite game.

Dan made several choking noises and comically made a show of slumping to his knees, Benny still clutched in his arms. Then, he dropped backwards, playing dead. BB propped himself up on Dan's chest and poked curiously at his face.

Maddy rolled her eyes and chuckled at their ridiculous, but totally adorable antics.

"Daniel, would you stop dying on the floor, please?" CJ called from the kitchen. "If I trip over you again I swear you won't return to the world of the living."

Dan's head shot up, getting a squeal of surprise from his son, he grinned. "No worries, Miss Claudia, we'll take the next battle elsewhere."

"Not now you won't. Breakfast is ready. Is Evie up yet?"

"Present." I called, winking at BB and strolling into the kitchen.

"Oh, good morning." She smiled at me, setting a large bowl of scrambled eggs and a small mountain of toast on the table so we could dish out our own. "How did you sleep? Dan, go and get Jay and the girls would you?"

I blinked. Sleep? "Uh…alright." I'd _slept_? So I had. And I hadn't dreamed.

Maddy arched a brow at me as she took her seat, she must've took something from my expression because then she smirked.

I scowled at her. If she thought I was going to admit to the possibility of… _anything_…she was damn well wrong.

"You're as stubborn as a mule, Eva Hanson." My partner chuckled, shaking her head at me.

I wrinkled my nose at her, taking a piece of toast off the plate CJ was holding out for me. "One would think that you'd be used to it by now."

"I am. It just never gets old."

"I'd have thought it'd be as annoying as hell." I smirked. How many times had I been told that?

Maddy smiled. "But you pick the strangest things to be stubborn over, Eves. You act like conceding defeat would be the death of you."

"Depends on who heard me say it." I muttered, scooping out a decent serving of eggs. Damn, I hadn't felt this hungry in days, either.

"What was that?"

I blinked innocently, ignoring her question. "How's the current situation looking?"

"All's clear." Jay's voice replied, and we looked up to see the missing three wander into the kitchen and take the remaining seats. "As clear as CJ's mother's crystal wine glasses. Oi! Landmine, you can't possibly eat all that! You'll explode!"

Yas gave him a glare from over the small mountain of the fluffy scrambled eggs on her plate. "I'm a growing girl. You do realise just how much energy I burn, don't you?"

"Leave some for the rest of us!"

CJ rolled her eyes at them. "I swear, if you two were the same shade, I'd call you siblings. You squabble like children! Jay, you're not going to go hungry, leave the girl alone."

"Yes, Ma."

"Smartass."

"Can we be serious for a second?" I grumbled, taking a mouthful of the coffee CJ had placed in front of me. I swear the girl is an angel. "Can I possibly have an update?"

"Ah hem."

I rolled my eyes impatiently. "_Please_."

"That's better. You're a terrible influence on Ben-" Dan smirked at me.

"Too late."

"-As to the update, all is well. The night went smoothly. Two other blips appeared, but there was no interference within the systems."

I raised an eyebrow. "What the hell is a blip?"

Danny coughed. "Blip. Like the one that Tess found in the computers last night."

"Oh…_oh!_" Code-naming werewolves as _blips_? Dear god. I'd just _love_ to tell Sam that. "Are you having any troubles with…blips, at the moment?" I almost snickered.

"Nope," Tess grinned, obviously relieved. "Systems are running smoothly."

I gave my grinning comrades a cautious look. "…You didn't nuke them, did you?"

"For that we would've needed nuclear weapons. And you know we don't have any of those." Tess answered, chewing thoughtfully, as if she might've contemplated the idea. They'd obviously freaked her out, and spies were trained to eliminate their fears.

I nearly scoffed out loud at that. I'd done such a terrific job on eliminating my own fears. _You__'__ll__get__the__chance._ Part of me whispered. _You__'__ll__win._

I clicked my tongue and snorted, whether at my thoughts or at Tess. "I know Jay's got prototypes-"

"I do not!"

"Do so. I've seen them. Little things, 'bout this big," I indicated with my hands to show about twenty centimetres. "Silver, in that black and grey striped case you've got."

Jay paused and stared at me. "Have you been going through my stuff?"

I shrugged. "Not recently. Used to though, to practice. Now I just recognise the case."

He opened his mouth, and then closed it, unsure what to say or probably feel about it. Finally he nodded approvingly and grinned at me. "That's my girl. Knew I'd taught you well."

I raised an eyebrow. "Yeah, uh huh. Aren't you a little old for comics, though?"

His grin turned into a scowl. "Don't diss the classics, baby girl."

Chuckling, I returned my attention back to the previous conversation. "Now…what was I talking about?"

"You were concerned that'd we'd nuked the blips." Tess supplied helpfully.

A smile tugged at the corners of Maddy's lips and she went to open them, so I rushed to stop whatever smart-arsed remark she had. "Correction. I was concerned you'd nuked the blips _without__me_." If there was going to be any explosions of any kind, I definitely wanted a hand in them. If this whole shit situation was going to revolve around me and the demons from my past, then I wasn't just going to sit idly on the side lines while the rest got to fight them.

_Not__a__coward.__Many__things,__but__never__a__coward._

Lie. I knew deep down that if Jacob Black were to walk through that door right now I'd turn tail and flee. I'd just never admit that I am this pitifully, pathetically weak. I'm an agent, goddamnit! I'm not supposed to be like this.

"We thought it'd be a good start to get a scope on the surroundings. Canvas the area. We've already done a two hundred metre radius out from the house. We've got motion sensors and cams up to cover the whole area. I say we put out further sensors every hundred metres, if more then one is tripped then we go into alert. Three triggers and we hit lockdown." Jay was saying, drawing a diagram of his plan in the eggs he'd flattened on his plate.

To me, it looked like a spider web, though I knew each line represented a sensor line. "You've been wandering around the in woods?" I asked dryly. "Have you lost your goddamn minds?"

"This is a strong hold, Eves." Jay told me patiently, like this was my first time. "We have to know when we're being approached. We've got precious cargo here, remember?"

I glanced at my godson. I knew that. "And what if the blips reoccurred while you were traipsing around? What if they _detected__you_?"

Yas shook her head. "There were no signs."

I gave her a look. "Their sneaky blips. They won't just appear on your screens waving a flag in your faces."

"You need to stop stressing. The last blip disappeared just after daylight. My theory is that the temperatures affect their signal strength. Night time might possibly be the only time when the signal can affect our equipment." Dan said reassuringly, looking pleased.

Somewhere in all the drivel he'd just sprouted, I think I grasped his meaning. He thought the wolves would only watch us at night. "Notice how you say '_might__possibly__'_, and how you're still referring to them as _blips_. I'd have thought you'd have a longer name for something that messed with your toys."

He cleared his throat. "You know me, always better to be safe then sorry."

I eyed them uncertainly. "How sure are you that their not in the systems right now?"

"Positive. Not for two hundred metres at least."

_Oh__god,__please__don__'__t__let__them__have__seen__them__setting__the__sensors._There would be nothing stranger. Even though I doubted that they'd actually figure out what I was, it still wouldn't help. If Sam became any more suspicious of us, he'd have a guard sitting on the bloody back door step.

"It would be handy if we knew how good the blips sensors were." Tess put in, biting her lip.

"It would be handy. How do you propose we go about it? Do you want me to wander out and ask?"

"Evie, don't be absurd." CJ chided.

"I'm not! You keep hinting at me to do something about it! I am not going near them. End of story. Contact with all blips must equal a big fat zero. Zilch. Nip. Na da. _None_." Okay, so maybe I could use some more sleep and something stronger then coffee to do something about this stress. My nerves are about shot to bits, apparently. I breathed out slowly. "Sorry. I'm…I'm sorry."

"Oh, honey," CJ smiled and reached over to take my hand, which I had clenched into a fist without realising. "It's okay, shh. We're not making you do anything-"

I gave her a sharp look. Like hell they weren't!

"-Alright, point taken. We're not making you do anything _else_ you don't want to do, okay?"

"It's probably better if you stay out of sight for a while, anyway. The sight of you will only stir things up." Maddy reasoned, helpfully.

I gave her another look, too. "I won't stand aside while my battles are fought for me. You know me better then that."

She met my gaze calmly. "Indeed I do, partner."

* * *

**A/N: The fact was sort of lost on me the last chapter but….wow. I'm up to 31? And _305__ reviews?_ That's _insane!_ More then I had imagined :D I can't thank you guys enough, honestly. **

**So this was not the Jake/Evie reunion that I know your all waiting for, but I promise that will be very, _very_soon ;) **

**I am going to work this afternoon, for an unsure amount of time. I know that we'll be working through the weekend so we can try to get them all finished before the next rain hits though. Just a warning, I have no idea when I'll be able to reply to your responses, so...yeah. But I promise I will when I'm able to :) To anyone I missed for the last chapter, I'm sorry, but you know you have my thanks *hugs* :) **

**Thank you all so much for your patience and understanding. Your baring with me means a lot (: **

**Love and peace, **

**-Meg xx**


	32. Changing Hearts

**A/N: Hey guys! Hope this finds you all well and enjoying your Christmas eve (: I held this chapter off a few days so it could count as my Chrissy present to you (: **

**Thank you so much to my reviewers, as always, _kikikiki, Ravenclaw Slytherin, Azalia Fox Knightling, SamMorgan13, Rhythm15, SasoLOVE111, TempusSimia, Lil Obsessed, SundaySolis, RealWriter03, ImpatientTeen7, AnonymousJinx209 _and _Harvey the Wonder Hamster _for putting the smiles on my face :)**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

**. : Chapter 32: Changing Hearts : . **

The rest of the day seemed to float past in a sort of agonizing blur.

True to Maddy's suggestion, I was confined indoors and placed on full-time babysitting duty. I love my godson, and I didn't _really_ want to _be_ outside, but being kept inside while the rest of my family were taking strolls in wolf-infested woods was proving to be incredibly nerve wracking.

I spent more time glued to the chair at the desk, with my eyes trained on the monitors, then I did actually watching Ben. I was _that _paranoid.

"Evie….Evie."

The gentle touch to my shoulder made me jerk in my seat, my eyes involuntarily flying away from the many screens to stare up at CJ uncomprehendingly.

She stood next to me, watching me with a frown creasing her forehead and concern in her eyes. "Honey, why don't you take a break, hmm?"

I blinked wearily and rubbed at my eyes. They were starting to ache from staring at the monitors for so long, but I'd only just noticed this. "Are you guys all done?" I looked around for the others, but couldn't see them. Only Benny was in the room with us, sitting on the floor with his building blocks.

CJ shook her head. "Nearly, I just came back early so I could make a start on dinner. Evie, why don't you go have a lie down? You look about ready to pass out, sweetie."

I felt like shit. So much for being near Black making me feel better. I think, now, that I felt worse. I found myself nodding mutely to her suggestion, and rising stiffly to my feet. I felt my spine click in several places and flinched. The things my Mother would've said about my posture…

"I'll be right for food." I told her as I started trudging up the stairs. "I think…think I'll just sleep."

She nodded understandingly. "I'll put a plate in the microwave for you in case you wake up hungry, okay?"

I didn't even have the energy to smile my thanks, just kept going up until I found myself collapsed on my bed, feet dangling over the edge, passing out in the next instant.

oOo

Consciousness came with an ache deep-settled in my bones. Like how you feel after you wake from sleeping in a bad position.

Wearily blinking my eyes, the first thing that I noticed was that it was dark. The second thing, that it was dead quiet. I couldn't even hear the rustle of leaves outside over the ringing in my ears. Damn, I felt hung over. Though I was positive I hadn't had a drop to drink.

A soft snore from my right drew my eyes to the form curled up on the mattress. It must've been reasonably late if Yas was in bed and snoring. Nearing midnight, maybe. I'd obviously needed that sleep, badly. I hadn't heard her come in.

Unable to stay still any longer, I shifted as quietly as possible into a sitting position and stretched. Joints popped, aches subsided. Though the internal one remained.

I stood, and went to go to the door when the kiss of a cool breeze brushed over my skin. Of their own accord, my eyes went to the open window, to the trees bathed in soft moonlight beyond.

_No_. I thought, even as I took a step. _Don't be bloody ridiculous…_

I was landing on my feet before the thought could finish. The feeling of damp, soft earth between my bare toes brought a soft sigh from me. It felt _good_.

_Just a quick walk, the fresh air will help_. I told myself, already making my way into the forest. I knew where each sensor was, easily stepping over each trip wire without missing a beat.

I walked, with no real idea of where I was going. My mind not really thinking about anything, just how good the night air felt against my tired body. When the sharp smell of salt invaded my nose, I stopped and seemed to wake from the lazy stupor I'd fallen into.

I was standing atop the cliffs, salty, cool sea wind flowing over me, flicking my loose hair and reminding me of _home_.

My toes curled over the edge of the rock, empty air all that existed in front of me. I could jump, but wouldn't, I'd survive. Wasn't the whole point of jumping from high places to _not_ survive? But I wasn't suicidal anyway, so there really was no point, except…to feel the joy of freefall. I loved the feeling of freefall.

I closed my eyes, lifting a foot…

The feeling came to me out of no where, a _knowing _of being watched, of no longer being alone.

I whirled around, both feet planted firmly on the ground, my hand going for the gun that was holstered to my hip. My fingers closed around thin air and for a moment panic stabbed at me. I'd left my guns under my pillow. _Stupid._

The presence I could feel was…strong, thick. I had no weapon, only hand-to-hand, which I'd also win. But I was weary, tried…

My eyes narrowed, looking so intently into the trees as though I thought I'd be able to see through them. But there was nothing to see, though I knew there was someone there.

"Come out." I ordered, voice a low growl, barely audible even to my own ears.

There was movement directly in front of me, leaves rustled, the noise I knew was somehow different to that of the breeze blowing around me. I found myself holding my breath, heart rate picking up as I widened my stance and flexed my fingers, ready.

When the foliage finally parted, as if it were giving up its greatest secret, and the figure appeared, the first thing I knew was that I was _not ready._

My breath was nonexistent, my heart damn near stopped. Everything seemed to stop. I couldn't feel the wind, the earth beneath my feet, the smell of the ocean, the noise of the waves crashing against the rocks far below.

All I could see was the impossibility in front of my eyes, bathed in the glow of the moon. All I could feel was a sort of tragic beauty and lethal danger, all radiating from this creature.

He was huge, taller then I at the shoulder, broader then the thickest trunks across the chest. Everything about him screamed strength, power, yet I wanted to be closer, to see him better. He was a colour between red and brown, blended together like a colour on an artist's palate, _russet_.

His ears were both pointed forward, on me. His eyes, I couldn't really see, but they were dark, and I knew they were on me also. I could feel his gaze on my skin, searing, branding.

The light from the moon seemed to make him glow…

Air filled my lungs in a rush, the noises came back in a roar, my voice came out in a strangled, broken whisper. "Jake."

Those ears flicked, and I swore I saw him shiver, but he stayed so still, like stone.

"It's you, isn't it?" I whispered. My hands flew to my mouth as the giant wolf nodded his massive head once, slowly.

The way he watched me…like I would run…hurt.

I swallowed, and without thinking, took a step forward. He did the same, and I froze, fear welling up inside me.

He stopped dead, and after a moment, slowly lowered himself to the ground to lie on his belly, head resting on his paws.

He was…trying to make himself smaller, so he wouldn't scare me so much.

My heart clenched, and I felt the tears prick at the corners of my eyes. "How can you still…"

He lifted his head enough to tilt it in a questioning gesture.

I shook my head and took another careful step forward, then another. He didn't move. My hands trembled, my palms sticky, heart pounding. I didn't even berate myself for this behaviour, couldn't, not with him right there, right in front of me. So real. I sank to my knees when my legs would no longer hold me up.

Now I was closer to him, and just about eye level, I could see the melted chocolate orbs, shinning, reflecting the moon as he stared at me with such _intensity_ that I sank further.

"Your eyes are the same." I whispered, aware of the mere two feet of distance between us, but not really being able to bring myself to care. I shouldn't have been feeling this need to get closer to him, I hadn't when he was human. Was it the separation? Or did the fact that he was in his wolf form have a different affect on me? I wondered idly, then felt relief that I was starting to think a little more rationally again.

Those eyes blinked, but remained on me. I could see the sadness in them, felt guilt grip at me. I'd put that sorrow in those beautiful eyes, I knew it was my fault. _Like so many other things..._

"I'm so sorry, Jake." As I murmured the words, one shaky hand reached out and after a moment's hesitation, touched him.

As his eyes slid closed, I marvelled at the softness of his fur, it didn't look as soft as it felt. A smile actually pulled at the corners of my mouth when a heavy sigh rumbled from him.

"I didn't mean to hurt you," I admitted, hand stilling and drawing away a little. His eyes opened as soon as the contact ended. "I swear I never meant it. But I can't give you what you want, Jake." A single tear slipped down my cheek. "I can't give you what you _need. _I can't be your soul-mate. I can't face it again…"

He pushed his huge, damp nose into the open palm of my hand and whimpered. It tore at my heart strings.

"It's so complicated. _I'm_ so complicated. I'm scarred, Jake, broken. I don't think I can ever love like that again. But I…I _want _to. I wish I could, even just to take away your pain. I'm sorry." Two more crystal drops made their way down my cheeks as I realised I meant every word. I _did_ wish it could work, I _would_ stop the pain. If I could. But I knew I couldn't. "_I'm so sorry_."

He whined again, inching himself closer like he couldn't help it. I didn't back away, either because I didn't want to or didn't have any energy left, who knew?

In that moment, tears now streaming down my face, staring into the eyes of my soul-mate, I knew two things. First, it was now pointless to deny it, I _was _his other half, and second, I hated Adam in a new light. I hated him now for ruining me for this, destroying Jake and I before we'd even had the possibility of existing.

"I wish it were different, so badly, I wish it wasn't like this."

oOo

JAKE'S POV

I knew she was back. I'd felt it the moment she had set foot on the res again. But I hadn't gone to her, and it'd taken every ounce of my will power to not go running to her. _Had to be on her terms. _The decision was hers to make, and hers to make alone.

So I'd stayed away, out of sight. It both eased my pain to feel her so close to me again, and created a new one that she was so close yet I still couldn't be with her.

But I hadn't been able to help myself when I'd caught her scent tonight. I knew she was alone, and none of the pack were around. I couldn't leave her by herself out here. What the hell she was doing out here by herself in the middle of the night anyway?

_Just a peek_. I'd promised myself. Just to see she was alright.

She was as stunning as I remembered, in a simple white t-shirt and three quarter PJ pants. Her black hair was loose and moving in the breeze and as she walked. Carrying her scent to me, cinnamon and vanilla, I inhaled it like a drug. But there was something wrong with her, she walked as if she were in a daze. I knew she was awake, going by her heart rate, but she seemed….lost.

I followed her up to the cliffs, unable to leave her when she was in this state. When she just stood there, looking down at the water, I was alright. But when she lifted a foot, _a bare foot_, I panicked and took a step forward.

_Snap. _

I cringed and froze at the sound of the twig breaking under my paw. Evie whirled around, eyes scanning the trees as she seemed to come to. _How had she heard?_

"Come out." She growled after a moment, she was shifting her stance. Readying herself for a fight? It caused physical pain to think that she had ever _needed _to know how to fight.

Before I could stop myself, or think better, I was moving out of the bushes that hid me. _Have to be with her. _The wolf in me repeated over and over. _Ours. _

She froze, and everything else around us seemed to do the same. I held my breath, waiting for her to scream, to run. She knew the secret, but would she remember that if she was terrified? Or what if she thought I was one of the others, or worse, _Sam_…the way she was staring at me…

At once I heard her sharp intake of breath, like she'd suddenly remembered how to breathe.

"_Jake_."

I barely kept my eyes from closing at the sound of my name from her lips. Her voice was off though, like it pained her to speak. But it wasn't a question, she _knew _me. My heart leapt.

"It's you, isn't it?" She whispered. When I nodded, she slapped her hands over her mouth like she was blocking a noise.

Did knowing who I was make it worse for her? Would she run now because it _was_ me? My heart sank.

It grew hopeful again when she did the exact opposite of what I was thinking she'd do. _She came towards me. _I couldn't help the step I took, the need to be closer to her after so long was goddamn painful! But I regretted it when her beautiful green eyes widened, in fear.

I halted, wracking my brains for some way to make this easier, without actually leaving. _Can't leave her. Not now. _Slowly, so slowly, I stretched out on the ground, trying to look like the family dog you couldn't help but pat. I doubted she'd react well if I phased. As much as I hated the dog puns…I'd do anything to make her feel better, to make her stay.

"How can you still…" Her voice cracked as she trailed off, the crystal tears glinting in the moonlight as they pooled in her eyes.

I'd go _beyond anything_ to make them go away.

I tilted my head at her, silently begging, _please don't cry._

She took another tentative step toward me, and then another, then she lowered herself to her knees. My joy at having her willing close to me was flattened by the tortured look on her stunning face.

_Nothing but a smile should ever grace her face. _I decided firmly. She'd never be sad again. Not if I had anything to do with it. And I _will._

"Your eyes are the same." She murmured, her saddened expression only getting worse. "_I'm so sorry, Jake_." She reached out a hand, my heart stopped. Would she really…?

Her gentle, shaking fingers tentatively pressed against my cheek. I couldn't help closing my eyes, anymore then I could help the heavy sigh that escaped when she threaded her fingers through my fur.

"I didn't mean to hurt you. I swear I never meant it. But I can't give you what you want, Jake." A single tear slipped down her cheek. "I can't give you what you _need. _I can't be your soul-mate. I can't face it again…"

Why was she saying this? What did it _mean_? I pushed my nose into her palm when her hand threatened to drop. _We would not be separated again_. The wolf demanded it. "It's so complicated. _I'm_ so complicated. I'm scarred, Jake, broken. I don't think I can ever love like that again. But I…I _want _to. I wish I could, even just to take away your pain. I'm sorry." Two more of the treacherous tears rained down her cheeks, falling eventually to the soft ground. "_I'm so sorry_."

_You _are _complicated. _I thought, whining at her and creeping closer. _But your _mine._ I freaking _love _you!_ _Exactly the way you are!_

"I wish it were different, so badly, I wish it wasn't like this." the tears ran faster now, she made no move to wipe them away.

It broke me to see her this way. She was so strong, so proud, it had to be killing her to be like this. I whimpered again, nudging and licking her palm comfortingly then laying my head in her lap. I was dying to phase back and hold her, but held off.

_Her choice…_must _be hers!_

oOo

EVIE'S POV

I sniffed, feeling empty again. I hated this feeling, with a passion. But I was _warm_. With Jake's head lying in my lap, his deep eyes gazing up at me, pain written through them…I didn't feel _alone_.

Absently, I started stroking his massive ears again. "Can you change back whenever you like?" I asked, not totally sure why I was asking. A distraction maybe?

His ears perked, interest and hope sparking within him as he lifted his head enough to nod. When he began to get to his feet however, I panicked.

"Wait!" Where he'd been touching me felt bone-chillingly cold once he wasn't. I shivered. "Don't…don't go. Please." I swallowed and relaxed when he settled back down, the chill leaving almost immediately.

_I believe it. I really, really believe it. _

"D-does it hurt when you shift?" I continued.

He shook his head.

"The journal described it as…a mix between pleasure and pain, exhilarating."

He tilted his head again, thinking about it? Then he nodded again.

I went quiet, thinking about it for long moments, my fingers still absently sifting through the long soft fur. Fate really is a cruel son of a bitch. I mean, hadn't I suffered enough over my life? After everything, _everything_, that's ever happened to me…now fate puts this in front of me, so close that I can just taste what it could be like, but just far enough away that I'll never reach it. Then of course I had to suddenly go and make it harder for myself by deciding that I _wanted _to reach for it. Wanted more badly to be able to grab it and never let go.

How had I come to this so quickly? And the timing sucked, naturally. With Adam and that other evil barsted….so many demons lurking behind me, under my skin, reeking havoc in my mind. Time was running out, my life was changing so fast, _too_ fast. I wonder now if it will be too much for me.

"I think I've been running for so long…that it's all I know how to do, now." I heard myself say. "First with Daddy…I never said goodbye, you know. Our last conversation…I was mad at him, he'd missed my birthday, again. I didn't know he had cancer, I didn't know he was trying to protect me. He didn't want me to remember him sick, so he stayed away. The guilt…" I felt another tear trickle down my cheek. "What if he died, thinking I hated him? And it was my fault…all my fault." If he hadn't been afraid for me, my mother's people could have cured him. "I'll always have to live knowing that."

There was movement, and noises, light glinted and shifted and the pressure on my lap was suddenly no longer there.

I stared, wide eyed and mouth agape, at those same chocolate eyes now level with my own.

Jake curled an arm around my waist and pulled me against his warm, solid form, leaning down to press a kiss to my forehead as he did so. I was too stunned to do anything.

"It could never have been your fault, Evie." He said, his voice raspy and deep and lulling.

When I just continued to stare at him, he ran his free hand through his hair and rubbed the back of his neck. He was as handsome as the last time I'd seen him, in the rain in my rear view mirror...

"I'm sorry, I tried not to, but I had to hold you. I know it has to be your choice, and I tried to let this be too, but I…I'm not…strong enough. Being wolf, it just wasn't enough, and it kills me to see you in so much pain and…and…"

I shook my head at his babbling, and then leaned into him, resting my head on his shoulder. I also don't know when I started finding babbling _cute_, it's supposed to be as _annoying_ as _shit_.

"Shut up."

He wrapped the other arm around me to, and I felt secure. Another kiss was dropped to the top of my head. "I wish I could take all this pain from you, Evie. I wish you'd tell me how too."

I laid my hand flat on his chest, splaying my fingers over his heart, and smiled when I felt the strong beats underneath it. "Your so strong, so much life."

"It's your life." He didn't even hesitate, his tone so sure. He didn't doubt what he felt, not for a moment. It was a reminder of how much I didn't deserve him. "My heart beats for you."

"Stop it. You can't say shit like this to me. I'm not…I don't…I can't explain. I can never be truthful with you, _honest. _The things I've seen…the things I've done. Jake, you'd not only ever be able to understand, but you'd never want anything to do with me again." _And in the name of all things chocolaty in the universe I do not want that! Even though it is best for him…and most probably me. Crap, why did I change my damn mind! _"You're…your _life_. You're what life _should_ be, passionate, loving, kind…to almost an impossible fault. I…I'm _not._ You need someone who can look at things like you do, someone who can open up her closet and not drown you in all the skeletons hanging in there."

_Oh, dear god, am I babbling? Someone sign the papers, I've gone insane. _

"Evie, shut up." His voice rumbled from him into me, for a moment blocking out all the other noises in the night. "Do _you_ not understand imprinting at all?" He tucked one large warm finger under my chin and tilted my head up so I was looking at him. If he looked anymore serious I'd call him Sam. "Baby, you are _the _one for me. The _only _one. I'll be whatever you want me to be, do whatever you want me to do, but _you _need to understand that you're all that matters to me. I don't care what's hanging in your closet, hurl anything you want at me, I'll always be right here."

"But you don't know what's in there!" I cried, exasperated. "My secrets are the kind _no one_ deserves to be burdened with. I wouldn't even inflict this misery on my worst enemy, let alone _you_!" _Well…there may be a few people I'd curse with the pain…but that is beside the point._

Jake shook his head firmly, and I noticed then that his hair had gotten longer. He looked…roguish, oh so tempting in the moon light. "I don't care."

"You should!"

"What could be so bad? Drugs?"

I scoffed, feeling my spirit light inside again. Arguing with Jacob Black brought back my fire. What a shock. "Drugs, is that really the worst thing you can think of? I'm not, nor have I ever, been a junkie. Unless you count adrenalin junkie but I assure you I'm fully trained for skydiving."

He stared at me, and swallowed hard. "No…other…other men."

I blinked. This was his worst fear? "Well, yes. But not after I met you. Sex, for a long time, has just been sex to me, Jake. The guys…it was like building a shed. You've got the wood, the nails, the plans, you just need the hammer to finish the job. That's it. I don't even remember their names, it was just…a distraction, for a while. I'm a slut, yes." _Okay, Evie that was way to crude. A hammer? Seriously? _

He shook his head again. "No, your not."

I made a noise of frustration and thumped his chest. "Damnit Jake! You can deny what I tell you! You literally know nothing about me…"

"Bullshit! I know you can't get through a morning without at least three cups of coffee-strong stuff, not de-café. You cook, _amazingly_, but you pretend not to like it because you don't see yourself as 'domestic'. You're into cars and bikes and extreme sports that I do _not _approve of. You love your sister, even though she pisses you off something shocking. You even love your mother. You _love_ kids. You're loyal, to a fault. Your smart, and have the most brazen attitude I've ever come across, worst then even Leah. And I like it-no, I _love_ it! I love how sharp your tongue is. Your loving and caring and at the same time as totally badass as you make yourself out to be. Your beautiful, and tough…but so, _so_ haunted. It kills me, Eves, it really does." He cupped the side of my face and lent his forehead against mine. "I feel so powerless, sitting by and watching you go through this and not being able to help you."

I swallowed, slightly stunned. "O-okay, so maybe you know a bit. But what about…"

He smiled. "I don't care."

"I've done terrible things, Jake." I said solemnly.

"The past is the past…"

"Not if it comes back to haunt you."

"I know you have nightmares-"

"Jake! Just stop it! You're downplaying this and you're not grasping the gravity of the situation!" I thumped him again, desperate to make him understand that we were not a fairytale. There would never be a happy ending, I _knew_ it.

"Tell me." He said simply, with a shrug. "Trust me."

"I don't know how to trust anymore." I whispered. "Can't you just believe me?"

He gazed at me steadily. "It has to go both ways, Evie. We will get through this, whatever it is. We'll grow together. I swear I'll make you believe in life again."

_How'd he…_ "That's a big task, wolf boy. I might not even be around for very long."

His gaze hardened and his jaw clenched. "I don't know if I have the will power to let you leave me again."

I raised an eyebrow. "What'll you do? Go caveman and toss me over your shoulder?"

"Maybe. I want this to be your choice, Eves. But the wolf in me knows you're ours, and he's not as reasonable as the man." He sounded as if he resented that.

Was that why Mum didn't like the wolves? Because of whatever lurked beneath the man's skin? "I've seen you all furry, you're not so scary. Besides, I'd kick your arse if you tired to keep me here. And I'd probably hate you."

He grinned. "I know you would. And I thought you already did."

I bit my lip, staring up at him, and mumbled. "Maybe not so much now…"

His eyes lit up. I love how they did that. Like a kid at Christmas. "So what _do_ you think of me?"

"Oh, no. No, I'm not feeding your ego, Black."

"Ah, so you _like_ me then." Damn, that grin was infectious. "Think I'm hot?"

"Yes, actually. If I didn't know you were a werewolf I'd take you to a hospital for one of those ice baths." I smirked, cheekily.

He seemed mightily pleased with himself. "You admitted it."

I rolled my eyes. "I think your delusional, and twisting my words. Which, by the way, I hate."

"Just the facts, Eves."

"Stop it."

"Stop what?"

"Smiling like that."

"Why?"

"Because your making me smile, and I'm supposed to be morbidly depressed."

I felt his warm breath against my lips as he leaned in closer. "So I'm curing your morbid depression, then?"

I didn't bother to try and fight off the smile. "I guess so." _Was he? _Could _he?_

He grinned and pulled away, and I felt…disappointed. "Excellent."

I scowled at him, but couldn't find my usual conviction to put behind it. "Don't get cocky."

We sat in silence for a while, just staring at each other, until I lost my nerve and pulled out of his arms. The cold feeling was there, but then so was my smile. "I should…get back, before they send a search party."

"You should sleep." He agreed gently, giving me one of his soul-seeing looks. Deep down, I hoped they were only for me. "I'll take you back."

"I don't need a body guard, macho man, I…." I trailed off as he rose, my eyes widening. "Jacob, why the _hell_ are you naked?"

* * *

**A/N: There we go, the long awaited, and hopefully successful reunion :) I hope you enjoyed it. Next chapter has been started (I think I've got a 100 or so words :P) it's posting date is at the moment unknown. You all know the plan which my life works on-e.g. none. **

**On this note, I say goodnight, and where ever you are in the world, I wish you a very merry Christmas :) (And if you don't happen to celebrate Christmas, have a wonderful day!) **

**Love to all, **

**~Meg xx**


	33. Mental Stability

**A/N: I know, it's been **_**FOREVER **_**since I've updated, and I can only apologise profusely for that, but….life is life. I've been super busy with work and family stuff and…just don't have the time like I used to. Just got home from three days away-I have today to get myself organised to go to work tomorrow, but I HAD to give you SOMETHING so here it is.**

**Well overdue, but I hope also well received…**

**And thank you so much to the following wonderful people who reviewed the last chapter, many, many moons ago :P ~ **_**Wolf-follower, kiki, SerenityAngels, SasoLOVE111, LuckySock, RealWriter03, Kya, Ravenclaw Slytherin, Azalia Fox Knightling, MusicIsAlwaysThere, SamanthaMorgan013, Lil Obsessed, dragonrain618, Mythical Words, Kimura Emiko, TempusSimia, brightglo, Harvey the Wonder Hamster, xxyangxx2006, Oceanwind, Paul's Secret Loverr, LaLa, Unsocialite, pacifica somnia, Puckabrina Alee, K.C.B 16, Taylor'sbaby1, prerna11 **_**and **_**erica**_**. **

**You are all truly appreciated and dearly loved!**

* * *

**Chapter 33: Mental Stability**

_Clothes do not survive phasing. Clothes do not survive phasing…_I rubbed at my eyes with the heals of my palms. _Have to remember that. _Not that getting an eyeful usually bothers me, but this is Jacob Black. The guy who, as of about eight-to-nine hours ago, I decided I liked. It's different when you like the guy. It makes your body and your mind do traitorous things, and torture you from the moment of said eyeful.

"What's got you looking like you've been smacked in the head with a frypan?" Yas asked me across the table, her words muffled around a mouthful of scrambled eggs, as blunt as always.

"_Are_ you alright, honey?" CJ added, much gentler. "You haven't touched your food."

I looked down at my full plate. So I hadn't. "Uh, yeah. I'm okay. Just…yeah."

My partner arched one of her perfect eyebrows at me. "'_Just yeah'_, huh? Care to explain, Miss Hanson?"

"Not really, Mrs Livingston."

"You do look like you're a bit…stunned."

_Stunned. _I thought bleakly. _Stunned is one way of putting it, I suppose…_

"I'm fine." I said lightly, scooping the fork into my eggs and putting it in my mouth as proof. I felt better, but at the same time, still so drained, but…more hopeful.

Maddy was still looking at me like she suspected I was lying. Couldn't imagine why she would suspect me of that. "_Fine _is the bleakest describing word going. _Fine _is more often then not code for _not fine_."

"Mads, I've got my ex-fiancé and possibly a crazed, psychotic terrorist chasing me, other-worldly secrets on my shoulders and the beginnings of a killer headache. _Fine _is as good as your gonna get."

"Still, your different to what you were yesterday-and don't try arguing with me, I'm a major in human behaviour."

"Yes, you're a smartarse, I know."

"Pot calling the kettle back there, honey."

"Would you two please be quiet and let the rest of us enjoy our meal in peace?" Danny asked, exasperated. "Really, act your ages."

"Shut up."

oOo

"Evie! Evie! Evie! Evie! _Evie! EVIE!_"

"WHAT?" I yelled back to the incessant calling of my name, which was getting more and more panicked with each call. I shut the old photo album I'd been flicking through and left it on my bed.

"What is wrong, for gods' sakes? Is someone dying?" I bounced down the stairs and strode over to our 'command centre' as Yas called it.

"There may be a problem…or two." Jay replied, giving me a quick glance before returning his attention to the phone call he was in the middle of.

I sighed. "Great. What?"

"Th-there's a-another one." Tess whispered, daring a peak at the offending monitor screen.

"Another one…? Oh." My eyes widened when I realised problem number one. "_Oh_." There was a giant russet wolf relaxing comfortably not far inside the tree line. My heart beat a little faster. _Jake…_ "Uh…um, don't worry about him. There's no problem, Tess. He won't hurt you."

Maddy was gauging me with a calculating expression, her eyes flicked between me and the video screen once before she sat back in her chair, relaxing. She knew. "Crisis averted, ladies."

"How?" Yas demanded. "I don't _like_ being watched. I'm a watch_er_, not a watch_ed_. What if it's got rabies? Can't we just put it out of its misery?"

I couldn't help the brief moment of terror that flooded me, or the incredulous look I gave our trainee. "Yasmine! They do _not_ have _rabies_!"

"They could!"

"We're not shooting Eva's soul mate, and that's final." Maddy declared in her never-failing no-bullshit-CEO's voice.

"_That's_ Jacob Black?" Tess gaped, giving the screen her full, rapt attentions. "He's…uh…he's…"

"Hairy." Yas decided, with a sharp nod. "Evie, babe, your man's a total dog. Literally."

"_Wolf._ He's a wolf." I muttered, unable to resist the urge to correct her. I knew how much Jake hated the dog puns.

"Humanity is still possible, though, right?" CJ asked, putting her hand on my shoulder and leaning forward a little to get a better look. "I mean…the others seemed…normal-ish."

"They eat like every meal is going to be their last, but that's the wolf's appetite. Otherwise…their cheeky, gutter-minded and have an unhealthy addiction to football."

"Oh, so just men, then?"

"Pretty much."

"I know all this, but it's still difficult to wrap one's mind around." Danny said, curling an arm around his wife's waist.

I smiled a little. "Yah, definitely…difficult. Jake won't hurt us though, he just…"

"Can't stay away?" Maddy offered, grinning. "We ignore the russet wolf, people. Jay, what's happening with issue two?"

"Issue two?" I frowned.

Jay waved at us and responded to the person he was talking to. Maddy shook her head. "Alright, since his majesty is still busy, one of his sources dropped in a tip that Usman Ahmed has reached New York. Jay's trying to organise an under-the-radar team to trail him, but apparently many people are lacking spines."

_Usman…_I'd never actually heard him called by his given name before. It was always '_General', _though to everyone's knowledge, he had never been military. "I wouldn't be too keen on the idea either." I mumbled, mentally forcing the bloody memories away. "Do we know if he's checked my place?"

Maddy shook her head. "Not yet."

"So in reality there are problems we can do absolutely _nothing_ about, correct?"

"Nothing _yet, _honey." CJ rubbed my shoulder reassuringly. "It will just take time. They all make mistakes eventually, and when they do, we'll be ready."

My gazed wandered back to the screen where Jake was still lazing, looking like he was half-asleep. "But how much time?"

oOo

The clock, I swear, had something against me. But then, so did everything else it seemed. Every time I looked at the damn thing, only a handful of minutes had passed since the last time I'd looked at it.

Then, everyone else decided against going to bed at a reasonable hour! It was nine o'clock before Tess finally gave in to my insistence to leave her equipment in my capable hands and go to bed. Training then had me unwilling to leave the house for anywhere between thirty to sixty minutes, to give everyone time to fall asleep and leave my quick field trip undetected.

I had to go back into the woods. I just _had _to.

"Damn the damn clock." I muttered under my breath, glancing at the mocking device mounted on the wall above the kitchen door. Thirty-seven minutes had passed since Tess went to bed. Wasn't that enough?

"Calm down, calm down….breathe...breathe…" I exhaled out through my nose slowly. Patience, patience is needed here. Jake isn't going to disintegrate in the next half hour. Damnit! "He'll be there. He'll be there." I hadn't said I'd meet him anywhere. I just…had the _unfathomable _need to _see_ him. _Now!_

"I'm sure he will be."

I jumped and whirled around to stare at Maddy. She folded her arms and raised an eyebrow at me.

"Uh…"

"So you have seen Black in wolf form before today. I wasn't sure if you had or if the imprinting somehow just made you aware it was him."

I laughed, nervously. "Yeah, uh, I might've run into him last night…when I went for a walk…"

She shook her head. "It's pointless telling you not to do anything, isn't it?"

"Pretty much." I smiled, guiltily. "I was perfectly safe the whole time though. Jake was with me nearly straight away. I seriously don't think any human would be mad enough to attack me when he was around, I mean have you seen him? I mean, not that I need the help anyway, but you know, to make you feel better…"

She held up a hand and chuckled. "Evie, you're rambling. Calm down, hun, I'm not mad. Since when do you answer to anyone anyway? I'm glad you've seen him, and it must've went well, given the current situation. Unless you're off to get rid of him or something…"

"No! No, it went well. I mean, sorta, I mean kind of…urgh! Maddy!"

She laughed, properly this time. Apparently my frustration was very amusing. "It's kind of refreshing to see you like this."

"Cruel bitch. You like seeing me in this kind of tongue tied, hopeless situation?"

"It's hardly a hopeless situation. Paybacks a bitch, remember how I was when I started going out with Dan? Remember how much you mocked me for being 'such a love struck moron'?"

"I meant that in the _best_ way possible." I defended, pouting. "And you so were! Followed by _still are_!"

She grinned. "And now, you are, too."

I paused for a moment…then face-palmed. "I know! It's horrible! Please tell me how to make it stop?"

"I don't know any way to make it stop, hun." She said gently, walking over to me and taking my hand, leading me over to the lounge. "Is it such a bad thing?"

"Yes! No! No…I don't know! I was upset last night, as soon as I knew it was him I just fell apart. I cried, Maddy! _Cried_! Because I was with him! But then…it was like I couldn't help myself, I had to touch him, had to sit with the giant dog…and I was still upset, but when he was touching me, I felt…not alone. I could feel his presence, could feel it in my soul. Not the normal bone-tingly feeling we get usually, but my _soul_, Mads. I still hurt, but it was bearable…for once."

She nodded slowly, absorbing my words very seriously. "Sounds like the beginnings of a lost cause to me, Eves."

I dropped my head into my hands, whimpering miserably. "I know! I know…but what about Jake? How is it fair to him?"

"I'm gonna go out on a limb here and say it'll be much better for him if you love him, compared to if you didn't. It's a nasty thing, loving and not being loved back."

"But my life expectancy isn't all that great!"

"You will live through this, Eves." She interrupted firmly.

I sighed. "Stop saying that. The whole, 'tell yourself something often enough and eventually you'll believe it' thing is a load of crap. _Someone _needs to start seeing the real odds of this with me. I'm a spy, with countless people around the world who would like nothing better than to see me dead. They'd even bring popcorn to the finale!"

"Have you ever considered telling Jake?"

I stared at her blankly. "Tell him I'm a spy."

"Yes."

"That's strictly forbidden. Immediate family isn't even permitted to know, you know that!"

"What's this?" She fanned herself dramatically. "A rule Eva Hanson won't break? The shock!"

I smacked her arm. "Drama Queen, shut it! This is serious! You got off easy, 'cause you married one of our own."

"Tess's boyfriend knows about her, and the world is still turning." She shrugged. "I don't see the harm in telling your spouse. Relationships cannot be built on lies. You admitted it, you love Jacob Black…."

"Woah woah, I didn't say I_ love_ him. I like him, a _lot_. Love is too soon for my current mental stability to deal with."

"Fine. But it's only a matter of time. Still, the same thing applies. If you want any sort of chance with him, you have to start with the truth. He deserves that."

"Even you don't know every truth. I don't know if I'm even capable of saying most of it. What would he think then?" The possibilities were…horrifying.

Her smile was gentle, and understanding. "He already loves you. It will work out. It may be hard, but it'll be worth it in the long run."

I sniffed and leaned over to hug her. "Can I ask you a question?"

She scoffed softly. "Since when do you require permission?"

I smiled. True. "When did you know you were in love with Danny?"

Mads was quiet for a moment, and I could picture the thoughtful look she'd be sporting. "When he spilt a cup of his hideous black coffee down the front of my new white blouse. That moment, I knew I loved him."

I wrinkled my nose. "How in the hell did _that_ make up your mind for you? I'd have strangled him."

She chuckled. "Exactly. He _lived_. Now, go and see your werewolf."

I surprised myself with the speed I wielded bolting out the front door.

oOo

My breath fogged in the slightly chilly air. Cool enough to make my glad I was wearing sweat pants instead of boxers tonight. And shoes, I'd remembered shoes.

The forest once again had the familiar feeling to it, like I could be safe here, at peace.

I breathed out again just so I could watch the reaction. The moon was bright once more, giving everything that beautiful silver glow. The breeze was there, but gentle, barely strong enough to rustle the leaves in the pines.

I hadn't been walking long, perhaps a hundred or so metres past the dense tree line from the house, when I felt it.

The feeling seemed to wrap around me like a blanket to ward off the chill. It wasn't surprising or abrupt, just there one second when it hadn't been before.

I stopped and slowly turned in a full circle, trying to see if I could pick where he was. I couldn't. There was no sign of anything. You'd think a giant wolf would stick out like a sore thumb, but no.

"Okay, I know your there, but be damned if I can see you." I mumbled under my breath, squinting my eyes to try and see further into the surrounding trees.

Laughter. Low, husky male laughter floated to me on the sparse breeze.

_Human…? _I whipped my head in that direction and my gaze immediately settled on Jake, leaning against one the massive trunks off to my right. Shirtless, but a pair of tattered old cut offs hung low on his hips.

"Do you enjoy sneaking around after me?" I asked, stepping over a fallen log to go to him.

He shrugged, and the closer I got, the easier I could make out the grin on his face. "You make enough noise that even a human could've found you."

I grunted. "I wanted you to be able to find me."

"Evie, I knew the moment you left the house. You don't have to make noise."

"I'll remember that."

He smiled, and reached out a hot hand to gently brush a stray strand of hair off my cheek. "So did you come out here just to see me? Or do you just like wandering off in the middle of the night?"

I swatted at his hand, then tucked that strand behind my ear and continued walking. He fell in time with me in milliseconds. "Can I answer both?"

"Of course."

"What about you? Have you been watching me all this time?"

"When Sam and the others aren't here, even then, I'm never far away. In case you need me."

I chuckled. "Not the damsel in distress kinda girl, Black."

"Hey, you might need me for other things." His grin was cheeky, and made me hit him, even as it was infectious and made me laugh.

"Smartarse."

Rubbing his 'injured' arm, smile still plastered to his face, he walked on. "I still don't understand how you can hit me-and not hurt yourself."

_I do. _Unsure if I really wanted him to know that just yet, I smiled and shrugged. "Lucky, I guess."

"What brings you out tonight?"

"An endless search for peace of mind, Mr Black." I answered, purposefully trying to confuse him, because hey, it's fun. I glanced at him out of the corner of my eye, and found him watching me. "You seem to give it to me, for a little while."

"Are you complementing me?" He asked, feigning shock, going so far as to put a hand over his heart. "Are you feeling alright?"

"I can take it back, you smartarse." I threatened.

He grinned, and brushed the backs of his knuckles down my arm. "I'm sorry, I'm just…"

I smirked. "I know. I can tell. You're like a little kid after a lolly binge."

"Is it bothering you?"

I shook my head. "Surprisingly, no."

If possible, his smile got even wider. "Where were you going?"

"I have absolutely no idea. I only planned up to finding you…then, I got nothing."

"Beach?"

I shrugged noncommittally and nodded. "Sure."

He slung a large, warm arm around my shoulders with a leg-melting grin, and then paused. "You're not going to hit me for that, are you?"

"Mmm…tempting, but, nah."

If possible, his smile got even better, and I swore my heart actually skipped a beat just looking at him in that moment. "Great! Let's go!"

* * *

**A/N: Okie dokie, there you go, finally! :D **

**Now…I have no idea when there will be another update. My next job is about 3-4 hours away** **so I don't know if I'll even be making it home on the weekends! I will endeavour to reply to your reviews this time and at least keep you posted on where I am. TRY TO! I can't make promises, sorry!**

**Hope you have a lovely day, starting to feel winter here-yaay -_- lol.**

**Love to all, **

**Meg xx**


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